,transcriber's ,notes ,inconsistent punctuation has been silently corrected4 ,obvious misspellings have been silently corrected1 and the following corrections made to the text4 ,other spelling and hyphenation variations have not been modified4 ,page #ae1 section #bj - clear mirror the untainted seat - clear mirror of the untainted seat ,page #be1 section #dg - us to - us to attain ,page #fb1 section #be - tatpada orstate - tatpada or state ,page #fd1 section #a - the idea of the will be found - the idea of the world will be found ,page #fh1 section #i - proctive - productive ,page #aig1 section #bc - with ever rising - without ever rising ,page #bjj1 section #ah - of duality - of neither duality ,page #bfh1 section #ad - without its - without its cause ,page #ejb1 section #gc - makes - makes not ,page #eaa1 section #bc - remains - remains immune ,page #eab1 section #bh - cares - cares not ,page #ebe1 section #ba - externally conscious - internally conscious ,angle brackets3 444 have been used by the transcriber to indicate light editing of the text to insert missing words4 ,the spelling of ,sanskrit words are normalized to some extent1 including correct_/addition of accents where necessary4 ,note that the author uses 1 1 to indicate long vowels4 ,this notation has not been changed4 ,the ,,lpp edition 7#aiii7 which has been scanned for this ebook1 is of poor quality1 and in some cases text was missing4 ,where possible1 the missing_/unclear text has been supplied from another edition1 which has the same typographical basis 7both editions are photographical reprints of the same source1 or perhaps one is a copy of the other73 ,bharatiya ,publishing ,house1 ,delhi #aigh4 ,a third edition1 ,parimal ,publications1 ,delhi #aiih1 which is based on an ,,ocr scanning of the same typographical basis1 has also been consulted in a few cases4 ,the term 8,gloss40 or 8,glossary0 probably refers to the extensive classical commentary to ,yoga ,vsishtha by ,ananda ,bodhendra ,saraswati 7only available in ,sanskrit74 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,yoga-,v,,sishtha ,,mah,r,m,,yana4 ,,of ,v,,lm,,ki ,,vol4 ,,iv 7part #a7 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,yoga-,v,,sishtha ,,mah,r,m,,yana ,,of ,v,,lm,,ki in #d vols4 in #g pts4 7,bound in #d47 ,vol4 #d 7,in #b pts47 ,bound in one4 ,containing ,the ,nirvana-,prakarana1 ,uttarrdha ,translated from the original ,sanskrit ,by ,,vihari-,,lala ,,mitra ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,fourth ,,volume4 ,,nirv,,na ,,prakarana4 ,,book ,,vi4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,on ,unintentional ,acts and ,actions #a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,burning of the seeds of action for #g ,prevention of their ,vegetation ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,disappearance of the ,phenomenals #ac ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,annihilation of ,egoism #bj ,,chapter ,v4 ,narrative of a ,vidydhara and his #bf queries ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,description of ,disaffection and ,disgust #bi to the world ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,description of the seed of the ,arbour of #cf world ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,description of the ,temple of ,illusion #ci ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,of the ,development of ,intellect #dc ,,chapter ,x4 ,description of ,creation as an ,emanation #de from ,brahm ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,on ,truth and ,right knowledge #dh ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,on the identity of the ,will and its work #ej of the ,desire and its ,production ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,anecdote of ,indra and an account of the #ef ,atomic ,world ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,story of ,indrn2 and ,establishment of #fj the identity of the acts of ,creation and imagination ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,the ,final ,extinction of the ,vidydhara #fd ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,extinction of ,vidydhara 7continued7 #fg ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,lecture on the ,annihilation of ,egoism #fi ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,description of the ,universal sphere #ga ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,description of the ,form of ,virt or the #gg all comprehending ,deity ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,lecture on the ,extinction of the ,living #hb soul ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,what constitutes ,true knowledge #he ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,the yoga conducive to ,happiness or the #hg way to ,happiness ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,story of a ,pious ,brhmana and his #ie ,nirvna-,extinction ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,indifference or ,insouciance of ,manki to #aja ,worldliness ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,vasishtha's ,admonition to ,manki #ajd ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,manki's attainment of ,final ,extinction #aji or ,nirvna ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,sermon on the superior sort of yoga #aae meditation ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,demonstrated conclusion of the ,doubtful #aah ,truth ,,chapter ,,xxix4 ,sermon on ,holy ,meditation #abc ,,chapter ,,xxx4 ,sermon on spirituality #acc ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,sermon on the ,means of ,attaining the #acg ,nirvna ,extinction ,,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,sermon inculcating the knowledge of #adc truth ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,sermon on the ,true sense of ,truth #adg ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4 ,sermon on the ,practice of spiritual yoga #aec or intellectual meditation ,,chapter ,,xxxv4 ,description of the ,supreme ,brahma #aei ,,chapter ,,xxxvi4 ,sermon on the seed or source of the #afd world ,,chapter ,,xxxvii4 ,a ,lecture on the visibles and ,visible #agj world ,,chapter ,,xxxviii4 ,disquisition of ,nirvna-quietism #aha ,,chapter ,,xxxix4 ,vasishtha's ,gt or sermon on the sweet #ahg peace of mind ,,chapter ,,xl4 ,on the ,quiescence of the soul #aib ,,chapter ,,xli4 ,repose in one's essential ,nature #aid ,,chapter ,,xlii4 ,a ,lecture on ,nirvna-,extinction #aih ,,chapter ,,xliii4 ,on the infinite ,extension of ,brahma #bje ,,chapter ,,xliv4 ,dangers to which the wandering #bac 7staglike7 ,mind is exposed ,,chapter ,,xlv4 ,continuation of the story of the ,deer #bai like mind ,,chapter ,,xlvi4 ,on abstract meditation and ,hypnotism #bbg ,,chapter ,,xlvii4 ,the first step towards ,liberation #bcj ,,chapter ,,xlviii4 ,on the ,dignity of ,right ,discrimination #bcf ,,chapter ,,xlix4 ,total stoicism and insouciance #bda ,,chapter ,l4 ,description of the seven kinds of ,living #bdh beings ,,chapter ,,li4 ,admonition to ,arrive at the yoga of #beb ,ultimate ,rest ,,chapter ,,lii4 ,description of the ,form and ,attributes #beh of ,brahma ,,chapter ,,liii4 ,explanation of ,nirvna-,anaesthesia #bfd ,,chapter ,,liv4 ,establishment of the undivided #bfg individuality of ,god ,,chapter ,,lv4 ,the spiritual sense of the world #bgb ,,chapter ,,lvi4 ,story of the ,great stone and ,vasishtha's #bgf ,meditation ,,chapter ,,lvii4 ,on the knowledge of the known and #bha unknown ,,chapter ,,lviii4 ,proving the creation as ,divine ,attribute #bhe ,,chapter ,,lix4 ,description of the ,net work of the world #bhh ,,chapter ,,lx4 ,the ,net works of ,world 7continued7 #bie ,,chapter ,,lxi4 ,on the identity of the world with #cjb infinite vacuity ,,chapter ,,lxii4 ,the unity of the intellect with the #cjg intellectual ,world ,,chapter ,,lxiii4 ,unity of the universe with the universal #cac soul ,,chapter ,,lxiv4 ,sport of the heavenly ,nymphs #cah ,,chapter ,,lxv4 ,life and conduct of the ,etherial ,nymph #cbf ,,chapter ,,lxvi4 ,description of the inside of the stony #cbi mansion of the ,world ,,chapter ,,lxvii4 ,praise of continued practice or the #ccc ,force of ,habit ,,chapter ,,lxviii4 ,the ,fallacy of the ,existence of the #cci ,world ,,chapter ,,lxix4 ,entrance into the ,cosmical stone of #cde ,mundane ,egg ,,chapter ,,lxx4 ,the words of the creator of ,worlds in #cdi the ,mundane stone ,,chapter ,,lxxi4 ,description of final ,dissolution #cec ,,chapter ,,lxxii4 ,description of ,nirvna or ,final #cfj extinction ,,chapter ,,lxxiii4 ,description of the person of ,virt--the #cfd ,god of ,nature ,,chapter ,,lxxiv4 ,description of the cosmical ,body of #cga ,virt 7continued7 ,,chapter ,,lxxv4 ,description of the ,final conflagration #cgf of the world ,,chapter ,,lxxvi4 ,the stridor of ,pushkarvarta clouds #chc ,,chapter ,,lxxvii4 ,description of the world overflooded by #chh the rains ,,chapter ,,lxxviii4 ,description of the universal ,ocean #cid ,,chapter ,,lxxix4 ,maintenance of inappetency or want of #cih ,desire ,,chapter ,,lxxx4 ,the world ,proved to be a ,delusion #djd ,,chapter ,,lxxxi4 ,description of the last night of death #daa or general doom ,,chapter ,,lxxxii4 ,description of the person of the ,god #dbc ,siva ,,chapter ,,lxxxiii4 ,sight of the ,mundane ,god #dbg ,,chapter ,,lxxxiv4 ,relation of ,siva and ,sakti or of the #dca holy spirit and its power ,,chapter ,,lxxxv4 ,relation of ,nature and soul or the ,prime #dch ,male and ,female ,powers ,,chapter ,,lxxxvi4 ,the ,convertibility of the ,world to the #ddb ,supreme ,spirit ,,chapter ,,lxxxvii4 ,the infinity of the ,world shown in the #ddi ,material body ,,chapter ,,lxxxviii4 ,further ,description of earth #deh ,,chapter ,,lxxxix4 ,the ,phenomenal as the ,reproduction of #dfa ,reminiscence ,,chapter ,,lxxxx4 ,description of the ,watery creation #dfe ,,chapter ,,lxxxxi4 ,description of ,igneous1 ,luminous and #dfi ,brilliant ,objects in nature ,,chapter ,,lxxxxii4 ,description of the current air1 as the #dgg universal spirit ,,chapter ,,lxxxxiii4 ,the ,advent and ,psalmody of a siddha in #dhd the ,aerial ,abode of ,vasishtha ,,chapter ,,lxxxxiv4 ,description of a ,pischa1 and the unity #die of the world with ,brahma ,,chapter ,,lxxxxv4 ,description of the person of ,vasishtha #eje ,,chapter ,,lxxxxvi4 ,establishment of immortality #eji ,,chapter ,,lxxxxvii4 ,on the ,rarity and ,retiredness of #ead ,religious ,recluses ,,chapter ,,lxxxxviii4 ,praise of good society1 or association #ebj with the good and wise ,,chapter ,,lxxxxix4 ,a ,discourse on ,esoteric or ,spiritual #ebc knowledge ,,chapter ,c4 ,refutation of ,atheism #ecj ,,chapter ,,ci4 ,a ,sermon on spirituality #ecg ,,chapter ,,cii4 ,exposition of ,buddhism and disproving of #edb ,deaths ,,chapter ,,ciii4 ,proof of the unity of the ,deity amidst #edi the variety of creation ,,chapter ,,civ4 ,establishment of the ,non-entity of the #efa world ,,chapter ,,cv4 ,likeness of ,waking and sleeping ,dreams #efc ,,yoga ,,vasishtha4 ,,uttar,,dha ,,or ,,the ,,latter ,,half ,,or ,,supplement ,,to ,,the ,,nirv,,na ,,prakarana4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,on ,,unintentional ,,acts ,,and ,,actions4 ,argument3--,the manner how the liberated should conduct themselves in life1 with renunciation of their egoism and selfish desires4 ,rma rejoined3--,the renunciation of the notion of one's personality or egoism in his own person1 being attended by its attendant evil of inertness and inactivity 7lit4 want of acts71 it naturally brings on a premature decay and decline1 and the eventual falling off of the body in a short time3 how then is it possible sir1 for an indifferent person of this kind1 to practice his actions and discharge the active duties of life 7as you preached in your last lecture78 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is possible ,rma1 for the living person to resign his false ideas and not for one that is dead and gone 7because the life of a man is independent of his notions2 while the notions are dependant on his life74 ,hear me now to expound this truth1 and it will greatly please your ears3 7lit4 it will be an ornament to your ears74 #c4 ,the idea of one's egoism 7or his personality in own person71 is said to be an idealism by idealists2 but it is the conception of the signification of the word air or vacuity 7which is the essence of the ,deity71 that is represented as the repudiation of that erroneous notion4 #d4 ,the idealists represent the sense of all substances1 as a creation of the imagination1 while it is the idea of a pure vacuum1 which they say to be the resignation of this erroneous conception4 7,the vacuistic ,vasishtha treats here in length of the nullity of all substances1 and the eternity of all pervading vacuum1 and establishes the doctrine of the nothingness of the world and its ,god74 #e4 ,the idea of any thing in the world as something in reality1 is said to be mere imaginary by the best and wisest of men2 but the belief of all things as an empty nothing1 displaces the error of thought from the mind4 ,since all things are reduced to and return to nothing1 it is this alone which is the ever lasting something4 7,ullum est nullum1 et nullum est ullum74 #f4 ,know thy remembrance of anything1 is thy imagination of it only1 and its forgetfulness alone is good for thee2 therefore try to blot out all thy former impressions from thy mind1 as if they were never impressed on it4 #g4 ,efface from thy mind the memory of all thou hast felt or unfelt 7i4e4 fancied71 and remain silent and secluded like a block after thy forgetfulness of all things whatsoever4 #h4 ,continue in the practice of thy continuous actions1 with an utter oblivion of the past 7nor need the assistance of thy memory of the past1 in the discharge of thy present duties72 because thy habit of activity is enough to conduct thee through all the actions of thy life1 as it is the habit of a half-sleeping baby to move its limbs 7without its consciousness of the movements74 7,such is the force of habit1 says the maxim ,abhyastopapatti--habit is second nature74 #i4 ,it requires no design or desire on the part of an actor to act his part1 whereto he is led by the tenor of his prior propensities 7of past lives72 as a potter's wheel is propelled by the pristine momentum1 without requiring the application of continued force for its whirling motion4 ,so ,o sinless ,rma6 mind our actions to be under the direction of our previous impressions1 and not under the exertion of our present efforts4 #aj4 ,hence inappetency has become the congenial tendency of your mind1 without its inclination to the gratification of its appetites4 ,the leanings of men to particular pursuits1 are directed by the current of their previous propensities4 ,the predisposition of the mind1 is said to be the cause of the formation of the character and fortune of a man in his present state1 7which is otherwise said to be the result of his predestination7 which runs as a stream in wonted course1 and carries all men as straws floating along with its tide4 #aa4 ,i am proclaiming it with a loud voice and lifted arms1 and yet no body will hearken unto me when ,i say that1 want of desire is our supreme bliss and summum bonum1 and yet why is it that none would perceive it as such8 #ab4 ,o the wondrous power of illusion6 that it makes men to slight their reason1 and throw away the richest jewel of their mind1 from the chest of their breast wherein it is deposited4 #ac4 ,the best way to inappetence1 is the ignoring and abnegation of the phenomenals which ,i want you to do2 and know that your disavowal of all is of the greatest boon to you1 as you will be best able to perceive in yourself4 #ad4 ,sitting silent with calm content1 will lead you to that blissful state1 before which your possession of an empire will seem insignificant1 and rather serving to increase your desire for more4 7,the adage says3--,no one has got over the ocean of his ambition1 neither an ,alexander nor a ,csar74 #ae4 ,as the feet of a traveller are in continued motion1 until he reaches to his destination2 so are the body and mind of the avaricious in continual agitation1 unless his inappetence would give him respite from his incessant action4 #af4 ,forget and forsake your expectation of fruition of the result of your actions1 and allow yourself to be carried onward by the current of your fortune1 and without taking anything to thy mind2 as a sleeping man is insensibly carried on by his dreams4 #ag4 ,stir yourself to action as it occurs to you1 and without any purpose or desire of yours in it1 and without your feeling any pain or pleasure therein2 let the current of the business conduct you onward1 as the current of a stream carries down a straw in its course4 #ah4 ,take to thy heart no pleasure or pain1 in the discharge of the work in which thou art employed2 but remain insensible of both like a wooden machine which works for others4 7,because1 says the commentary1 it is the dull head of people only1 that are elated or dejected in the good or bad turns of the affairs of life74 #ai4 ,remain insensible of pleasure or pain1 in thy body and mind and all the organs of senses2 like the sapless trees and plants in winter1 when they bear their bare trunks without the sensitiveness of their parts4 #bj4 ,let the sun of thy good understanding1 suck up the sensibility of thy six external senses1 as the solar rays dry up the moisture of winter plants2 and continue to work with the members of thy body1 as an engine is set to work4 7,work as a brute with thy bodily powers or as a machine with its mechanical forces2 but keep thy inner mind aloof from thy outer drudgeries74 #ba4 ,restrain thy intellectual pleasures from their inclination to sensual gratifications1 and retain thy spiritual joy in thyself1 for the support of thy life2 as the ground retains the roots of trees in it very carefully in winter for their growth in the season of spring4 #bb4 ,it is the same whether you continually gratify or not the cravings of your senses1 they will continue insatiate notwithstanding all your supplies1 and the vanities of the world will profit you nothing4 #bc4 ,if you move about continually like a running stream1 or as the continuous shaking of the water in an aerostatic or hydraulic engine1 and be free from every desire and craving of your mind1 you are then said to advance towards your endless felicity 7so the adage is3--,all desire is painsome1 and its want is perfect freedom74 #bd4 ,know this as a transcendent truth1 and capable of preventing all your future transmigrations in this world1 that you become accustomed to the free agency of all your actions1 without being dragged to them by your desires4 #be4 ,pursue your business as it occurs to you1 without any desire or purpose of your own towards its object2 but continue to turn about your callings1 as the potter's wheel revolves round its fulcrum4 #bf4 ,neither have in view the object of your action1 nor the reward of your action2 but know it to be equally alike whether you refrain from action1 or do it without your desire of fruition4 #bg4 ,but what is the use of much verbiology1 when it can be expressed in short and in a few words1 that the desire of fruition is the bondage of your soul1 and your relinquishment of it is fraught with your perfect freedom4 #bh4 ,there is no business whatever for us in this world1 that must be done or abandoned by us at any time or place2 every thing is good that comes from the good ,god1 therefore sit you quiet with your cold indifference as before the occurrence of any event4 #bi4 ,think thy works as no works1 and take thy abstinence from action for thy greatest work1 but remain as quiet in your mind in both your action and inaction1 as the ,divine ,intellect is in ecstasies amidst the thick of its action4 #cj4 ,know the unconsciousness of all things to be the true trance-yoga1 and requiring the entire suppression of the mental operations4 ,remain wholly intent on the ,supreme spirit1 until thou art one and the same with it4 #ca4 ,being identified with that tranquil and subtile spirit1 and divested of the sense of dualism or existence of anything else2 nobody can sorrow for ought1 when he is himself absorbed in his thought1 in the endless and pure essence of ,god4 #cb4 ,let no desire rise in thy indifferent mind1 like a tender germ sprouting in the sterile desert soil2 nor allow a wish to grow in thee1 like a slender blade shooting in the bosom of a barren rock4 #cc4 ,the unconscious and insensible saint1 derives no good or evil by his doing or undoing of any deed or duty in his living state1 nor in his next life4 7,duties are not binding on the holy and devout sages and saints74 #cd4 ,there is no sense of duty nor that of its dereliction neither1 in the minds of the saintly ,yogis1 who always view the equality of all things and acts2 and never consider their deeds as their own doings1 nor think themselves as the agents of their own actions4 #ce4 ,the consciousness of egoism and the sense of meiety of selfishness1 will never release a man from the miseries of life2 it is his unconsciousness of these1 that can only save him from all sorrow1 wherefore it lies in the option of every body1 to choose for him either of these as he may best like4 #cf4 ,there is no other ego or meiety excepting that of the one self-existent and omniform ,deity2 and besides the essence of this transcendent being1 it is hard to account anything of the multifarious things that appear to be otherwise than ,himself4 #cg4 ,the visible world that appears so vividly to our sight1 is no more than the manifestation of the ,one ,divine ,essence in many1 like the transformation of gold in the multiform shapes of jewels2 but seeing the continual decay and disappearance of the phenomenals1 we ignore their separate existence4 ,we confess the sole existence of the ,one that lasts after all and for ever4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,burning ,,of ,,the ,seeds of ,action ,,for ,,prevention ,,of ,,their ,,vegetation4 ,argument3--,concerning the seeds and fruits of action1 and the mode of their extirpation by the root4 ,vasishtha continued3--,think not of unity or duality1 but remain quite calm and quiet in thy spirit and as cold hearted as the dank mud and mire1 as the worlds are still with unstirry spirit of the divinity working in them4 7,this is a lesson of incessant work without any stir and bustle74 #b4 ,the mind with its understanding and egoism and all its thoughts1 are full of the divine spirit in its diversified forms 7vivarta-rpa72 and time and its motion and all sound1 force and action1 together with all modes of existence1 are but manifestations of the ,divine ,essence4 #c4 ,the ,divine ,spirit1 being of the form of gelatinous mud 7or plastic nature71 all things with their forms and colours1 and the mind and all its functions also1 upon its own mould of endless shapes and types beyond the comprehension of men4 #d4 ,it is the ,divine ,essence which forms its own substance as upon a mould of clay1 the patterns and forms and the shapes of all things1 together with the measurements of space and time and the position of all the quarters and regions of the earth and heavens2 so all things existent or inexistent1 are the produce and privation of the formative mud and mould of the ,divine ,spirit4 #e4 ,do you remain indifferent about the essence of your egoism and selfishness1 which is no other than that of the ,supreme ,spirit2 and live unconcerned with everything1 like a dumb insect in the bosom of stone4 7,this is the ,vajra-,kita1 which perforates the slagram stone in the river ,gandak in ,bihar74 7,the dumbness of silent munis was occasioned by their inability to speak with certainty anything regarding the abstruse spiritual subjects74 #f4 ,rma asked3--,sir1 if the false knowledge of egoism and selfishness1 be wanting in the wise and ,god knowing man1 then how comes it1 that the dereliction and renunciation of his duties1 will entail any guilt or evil upon him1 and his full observance of them1 is attended with any degree of merit or reward8 7,this is the main question of the necessity of the observance of duteous and pious acts by the wise1 which is after so long mooted by ,rma1 in continuation of the last subject under discussion74 #g4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i will ask you also one question1 ,o sinless ,rma6 and you should answer it soon1 if you understand well what is rightly meant by the term duty and that of activity4 #h4 ,tell me what is the root of action and how far it extends1 and whether it is destructible at last or not1 and how it is totally destroyed at the end4 #i4 ,rma replied3--,why sir1 whatever is destructible must come to be destroyed at last1 by means of the act of rooting it out at once1 and not by the process of lopping the branches or cutting off the tree4 #aj4 ,the acts of merit and demerit are both to be destroyed1 together with their results of good and evil2 and this is done by eradicating and extirpating them altogether4 #aa4 ,hear me tell you1 sir1 about the roots of our deeds1 by the rooting out of which the trees of our actions are wholly extirpated1 and are never to vegetate or grow forth any more4 #ab4 ,i ween sir1 the body of ours to be the tree of our action1 and has grown out in the great garden of this world1 and is girt with twining creepers of various kinds4 7i4e4 ,the members of the body74 #ac4 ,our past acts are the seeds of this tree1 and our weal and woe are the fruits with which it is fraught2 it is verdant with the verdure of youth for a while1 and it smiles with its white blossoms of the grey hairs and the pale complexion of old age4 #ad4 ,destructive death lurks about this tree of the body every moment1 as the light-legged monkey lights upon trees to break them down2 it is engulphed in the womb of sleep1 as the tree is overwhelmed under the mists of winter1 and the flitting dreams are as the falling leaves of trees4 #ae4 ,old age is the autumn of life1 and the decaying wishes are as the withered leaves of trees1 and the wife and members of the family1 are as thick as grass in the wilderness of the world4 #af4 ,the ruddy palms and soles of the hands and feet1 and the other reddish parts of the body 7as the tongue and lips71 resemble the reddening leaves of this tree2 which are continually moving in the air1 with the marks of slender lines upon them4 #ag4 ,the little reddish fingers with their flesh and bones1 and covered by the thin skin and moving in the air1 are as the tender shoots of the tree of the human body4 #ah4 ,the soft and shining nails1 which are set in rows with their rounded forms and sharpened ends1 are like the moon-bright buds of flowers with their painted heads4 #ai4 ,this tree of the body is the growth of the ripened seed of the past acts of men2 and the organs of action are the knotty and crooked roots of this tree4 #bj4 ,these organs of action are supported by the bony members of the body1 and nourished by the sap of human food2 they are fostered by our desires1 resembling the pith and blood of the body4 #ba4 ,again the organs of sense supply those of action with their power of movement1 or else the body with the lightness of all its members from head to foot1 would not be actuated to action without the sensation of their motion4 7,hence a dead or sleeping man having no sensation in him1 has not the use or action of his limbs74 #bb4 ,though the five organs of sense1 grow apart and at great distances from one another1 like so many branches of this tree of the body2 they are yet actuated by the desire of the heart1 which supplies them with their sap4 #bc4 ,the mind is the great trunk of this tree1 which comprehends the three worlds in it1 and is swollen with the sap which it derives from them through its five fold organs of sense2 as the stem of a tree thrive with the juice it draws by the cellular fibres of its roots4 #bd4 ,the living soul is the root of the mind1 and having the intellect ingrained1 it is always busy with its thoughts1 which have the same intellect for their root2 but the root of all these is the ,one ,great ,cause of all4 #be4 ,the intellect has the great ,brahma1 which has no cause of itself2 and which having no designation or termination of it1 is truth from the purity of its essence4 #bf4 ,the consciousness of ourselves in our egoism1 is the root of all our actions2 and the internal thought of our personal entity is the root of our energy1 and gives the impulse to all our actions4 7,therefore as long as one has the knowledge of his personality1 he is prone to action1 and without it1 every body is utterly inert74 #bg4 ,it is our percipience1 ,o ,sage1 which is said to be the source and root of our actions and whenever there is this principle in the mind1 it causes the body to grow in the form of the big ,sirsapatra4 7,it is the intellect which is both the living soul as well as its percipience74 #bh4 ,when this percipience otherwise called consciousness 7of the soul71 is accompanied with the thoughts 7of egoism and personality in the mind71 it becomes the seed of action2 otherwise mere consciousness of the self is the state of the supreme soul4 #bi4 ,so also when the intellect is accompanied with its power of intellection1 it becomes the source and seed of action2 or else it is as calm and quiet as it is the nature of the ,supreme soul4 7,the self-perception and pure intelligence1 are attributes of the ,divine soul1 and not productive of action2 but these in company with the operations of the mind1 become the causes of the activity of both74 #cj4 ,therefore the knowledge of one's personality in his own person1 is the cause of his action1 and this causality of action1 as ,i have said herein1 is quite in conformity with your teachings to me4 #ca4 ,vasishtha said3--,thus ,rma1 action in the discreet being based on the knowledge of one's personality2 it is no way possible to avoid our activity1 as long as the mind is situated in the body1 and has the knowledge of its personality4 #cb4 ,whoever thinks of anything1 sees the same both within as well as without himself2 and whether it is in reality or not1 yet the mind is possessed with chimera of it4 #cc4 ,again whoever thinks of nothing1 verily escapes from the error of mistaking a chimera for reality2 but whether the reality is a falsity1 or the falsity of anything is a sober reality1 is what we are not going to discuss about at present4 #cd4 ,it is this thinking principle1 which presents the shadow of something within us1 and passes under the various designations of will or desire1 the mind and its purpose likewise4 #ce4 ,the mind resides in the bodies of both rational as well as irrational beings1 and in both their waking and sleeping states2 it is impossible therefore1 to get rid of it by any body at any time4 #cf4 ,it is neither the silence nor inactivity of a living body1 that amounts to its refraining from action1 so long as the mind is busy with its thoughts2 but it is only the unmindfulness of the signification of the word action1 that amounts to one's forbearance from acts4 #cg4 ,it is the freedom of one's volition or choice either to do or not to do anything that is meant to make one's action or otherwise2 therefore by avoiding your option in the doing of an act you avoid it altogether2 otherwise there is no other means of avoiding the responsibility of the agent for his own acts2 7except that they were done under the sense of compulsion and not of free choice4 ,gloss74 #ch4 ,nobody is deemed as the doer of an act1 who does not do it by his deliberate choice2 and the knowledge of the unreality of the world1 leads to the ignoring of all action also4 7,if nothing is real1 then our actions are unreal also74 #ci4 ,the ignoring of the existence of the world1 is what makes the renunciation of it2 and the renunciation of all associations and connections1 is tantamount to one's liberation from them4 ,the knowledge of the knowable ,one1 comprehends in it the knowledge of all that is to be known4 7,because the ,one is all1 and all existence is comprised in that only knowable ,one74 #dj4 ,there being no such thing as production1 there is no knowledge of anything whatever that is produced2 abandon therefore your eagerness to know the knowable forms 7of things71 and have the knowledge of the only invisible ,one4 #da4 ,but there is no knowing whatever of the nature and actions of the quiescent spirit of ,brahma1 its action is its intellection only1 which evolves itself in the form of an infinite vacuum 7showing the shapes of all things as in a mirror74 #db4 8,that utter insensibility is liberation10 is well known to the learned as the teaching of the ,veda2 hence no one is exempted from action1 as long as he lives with his sensible body4 #dc4 ,those who regard action as their duty1 are never released from their subjection to the root 7principle7 of action2 and this root is the consciousness of the concupiscent mind of its own actions4 7,the desire is the motive of actions1 and the consciousness of one's deeds and doings1 is the bondage of the soul4 ,or else a workingman is liberated1 provided he is devoid of desire and unmindful of his actions74 #dd4 ,it is impossible1 ,o ,rma1 to destroy this bodiless consciousness1 without the weapon of a good understanding2 it lies so very deep in the mind1 that it continually nourishes the roots of action4 #de4 ,when by our great effort1 we can nourish the seed of conscience1 why then we should not be able to destroy the keen conscience by the same weapon that is effort4 #df4 ,in the same manner1 we can destroy also the tree of the world with its roots and branches4 #dg4 ,that ,one is only existent1 which has no sensation and is no other than of the form of an endless vacuum2 it is that unintelligible vacuous form and pure intelligence itself1 which is the pith and substance of all existence4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,disappearance ,,of ,,the ,,phenomenals4 ,argument3--,admonition for ignoring the visibles1 and the means of attaining the insensibility and inactivity of the wise4 ,rma said3--,tell me1 ,o ,sage1 how it may be possible to convert our knowledge to ignorance1 since it is impossible to make a nothing of something1 as also to make anything out of a nothing4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,verily a nothing or unreality1 cannot be something in reality2 nor a real something can become an unreal nothing2 but in any case where both of these 7viz42 reality as well as unreality of a thing7 are possible1 there the cognition and incognition of something1 are both of them equally palpable of themselves4 7,this is termed a ,chtushkotika ,sunsaya or quadruplicate apprehension of something1 consisting1 of the reality or unreality of a thing1 and the certainty or uncertainty of its knowledge74 #c4 ,the two senses of the word knowledge 7i4e4 its affirmative and negative senses7 are apparent in the instance of 8a rope appearing as a snake03 here the knowledge of the rope is certain1 but that of the snake is a mistake or error4 ,and so in the case of a mirage presenting the appearance of water4 7,here the things snake and water prove to be nothing1 and their knowledge as such1 is converted to error or want of knowledge74 #d4 ,it is better therefore to have no knowledge of these false appearances1 whose knowledge tends to our misery only2 wherefore know the true reality alone1 and never think of the unreal appearance4 7,do not think the visibles either as real or unreal1 but know the deathless spirit that lies hid under them74 #e4 ,the conception of the sense of sensible perceptions1 is the cause of woe of all living beings2 therefore it is better to root out the sense of the perceptibles from the mind1 and rely in the knowledge of the underlying universal soul only4 7,taking the particulars in the sense of individual souls1 is the cause of misery only74 #f4 ,leaving aside the knowledge of parts1 and the sense of your perception of all sensible objects1 know the whole as one infinite soul1 in which you have your rest and nirvna extinction4 #g4 ,destroy all your acts of merit and demerit1 by the force of your discrimination2 and your knowledge of the evanescence of your deeds1 aided by your knowledge of truth1 will cause the consummation of ,yoga 7,siddhi74 #h4 ,by rooting out the reminiscence of your acts1 you put a stop to their results and your course in the world2 and if you succeed to gain the object of your search 7i4e4 your spiritual knowledge71 by means of your reason1 you have no more any need of your action4 #i4 ,the divine intellect1 like the ,bel fruit1 forms within itself its pith and seeds 7of future worlds71 which lie hid in it1 and never burst out of its bosom4 7,so all things are contained in divine mind74 #aj4 ,as a thing contained in its container1 is not separate from the containing receptacle1 so all things that lie in the womb of space1 are included in the infinite space of the universal soul 7or the divine mind7 which encompasses the endless vacuity in it4 #aa4 ,and as the property of fluidity1 is never distinct from the nature of liquids2 so the thoughts 7of all created things71 are never apart from the thinking principle of the ,divine mind4 7,the words ,chittam and ,chittwam1 and their meanings of the thought and mind1 appertain to their common root the chit or intellect with which they are alike in sound and sense74 #ab4 ,again as fluidity is the inseparable property of water1 and light is that of fire2 so the thoughts and thinking1 inhere intrinsically in the nature of the ,divine ,intellect1 and not as its separable qualities4 #ac4 ,intellection is the action of the intellect1 and its privation gives rise to the chimeras of error in the mind2 there is no other cause of error1 nor does it last unless it rises in absence of reason4 #ad4 ,intellection is the action of the intellect1 as fluctuation is that of the wind2 and it is by means of their respective actions1 that we have our perceptions of them4 ,but when the soul ceases from action1 then both of these 7viz3 our intellection and perceptions7 are at an utter stop within and without us4 7i4e4 ,the soul is the prime mover of our inward and outward senses74 #ae4 ,the body is the field and scope of our actions1 and our egoism spreads itself over the world2 but our insensibility and want of egoism1 tend to put away the world from us as want of force puts down the breeze4 #af4 ,insensibility of the body and mind1 renders the intelligent soul1 as dull as a stone2 therefore root out the world from thy mind1 as a boar uproots a plant with its tusk2 7by means of your insensibility of it1 and the full sense of ,god alone in thee74 #ag4 ,in this way only1 ,o ,rma1 you can get rid of the seed vessel of action in your mind2 and there is no other means of enjoying the lasting peace of your soul besides this4 #ah4 ,after the germinating seed of action is removed from the mind1 the wise man loses the sight of all temporal objects1 in his full view of the holy light of ,god4 #ai4 ,the holy saints never seek to have1 nor dare to avoid or leave any employment of their own choice or will2 7but they do whatever comes in their way1 knowing it as the will of ,god and must be done74 ,they are therefore said to be of truly saintly souls and minds1 who are strangers to the preference or rejection of anything 7lit41 to the acceptance or avoidance of a thing74 #bj4 ,wise men sit silent where they sit and live as they live1 with their hearts and minds as vacant as the vacuous sky2 they take what they get1 and do what is destined to them as they are unconscious of doing them4 7,the vacant mind without any care or thought1 is like a clear mirror of the untainted seat of the ,holy ,god74 #ba4 ,as sediments are swept away by the current of the stream1 so the saintly and meek minded men are moved to action by a power not their own2 they act with their organs of action with as much unconcern1 as babes have the movements of their bodies1 in their half-sleeping state4 #bb4 ,as the sweetest things appear unsavoury to those that are satiate and sated with them2 so do the delights of the world1 seem disgusting to them1 that are delighted with divine joy in themselves2 and with which they are so enrapt in their rapture1 as to become unconscious of what is passing in and about them like insane people4 #bc4 ,the unconsciousness of one's acts1 makes the abandonment of his action1 and this is perfected when a person is in full possession of his understanding 7or else the unconsciousness of a dead man of his former acts1 does not amount to his abandonment of action74 ,it matters not whether a man does ought or naught1 with his unsubstantial or insensible organs of action4 7,it is external consciousness that makes the action1 and not the external doing of it1 with the insensible organs of the body2 because the mental impressions make the action and not its forgetfulness in the mind74 #bd4 ,an action done without a desire1 is an act of unconsciousness2 and they are not recognized as our actions1 which have no traces of them in our minds4 7,hence all involuntary acts and those of insanity1 are reckoned as no doings of their doer74 #be4 ,an act which is not remembered1 and which is forgotten as if it were buried in oblivion1 is as no act of its doer2 and this oblivion is equal to the abandonment of action4 #bf4 ,he who pretends to have abandoned all action1 without abandoning 7or effacing7 them from his mind1 is said to be a hypocrite1 and is devoured by the monster of his hypocrisy3 7of this nature are the false fakirs1 who pretend to have renounced the world74 #bg4 ,they who have rooted out the prejudice of actions from their lives1 and betaken themselves to the rest and refuge of inaction1 are freed from the expectation of reward of whatever they do1 as also from the fear of any evil for what they avoid to perform4 #bh4 ,they who have extirpated the seeds of action1 with their roots and germs1 from the ground of their minds1 have always an undisturbed tranquility to rest upon1 and which is attended with a serene delight to those that have made hebetude their habit4 #bi4 ,the meek are slightly moved in their bodies and minds1 by the current of business in which they have fallen2 but the reckless are carried onward whirling in the torrent1 like drunken sots reclining on the ground1 or as anything moved by a machine1 7or as the machines of an engine74 #cj4 ,those who are seated in any stage of yoga1 and are graced with the calmness of liberation1 appear as cheerful as men in a play house1 who are half asleep and half-awake over the act in this great theatre of the world4 #ca4 ,that is said to be wholly extirpated1 which is drawn out by its roots1 or else it is like the destroying of a tree by lopping its branches which will grow again1 unless it is uprooted from the ground4 #cb4 ,so the tree of acts 7the ceremonial code71 though lopped off of its branches 7of particular rites and ceremonies71 will thrive again if it is left to remain1 without uprooting it by the ritual 7of achras74 #cc4 ,it is enough for your abandonment of acts1 to remain unconscious of your performance of them2 and the other recipes for the same 7as given before7 will come to you of themselves4 #cd4 ,whoever adopts any other method of getting rid of his actions1 besides those prescribed herein2 his attempts of their abandonment are as null and void1 as his striking the air1 7in order to divide it74 7,out ward abandonment of anything is nothing1 unless it is done so from the mind74 #ce4 ,it is the rational abandonment of a thing1 that makes its true relinquishment1 and whatever is done unwilfully1 is like a fried grain or seed1 that never vegetates nor brings forth its fruit4 7,the rational renouncement of a thing1 is said in the ,veda1 to mean its resignation to ,god1 to whom belongs every thing in the world1 and is lent to man for his temporary use only4 ,and fruitless actions are those that are done unwillingly1 and are not productive of future births for our misery only74 #cf4 ,but the act that is done with the will and bodily exertion1 becomes productive with the moisture of desire2 but all other efforts of the body without the will1 are entirely fruitless to their actor4 #cg4 ,after one has got rid of his action1 and freed himself from further desire2 he becomes liberated for life 7,jvan-mukta71 whether he may dwell at home or in the woods1 and live in poverty or affluence4 #ch4 ,the contented soul is as solitary at home1 as in the midst of the farthest forest2 but the discontented mind find the solitary forest1 to be as thickly thronged with vexations as the circle of a familyhouse4 #ci4 ,the quiet and calmly composed spirit1 finds the lonely woodland1 where a human being is never to be seen even in a dream1 to be as lovely to it as the bosom of a family dwelling4 #dj4 ,the wise man who has lost the sight of the visibles1 and of the endless particulars abounding in this forest of the world1 beholds on every side the silent and motionless sphere of heaven spread all around him4 #da4 ,the thoughtless ignorant1 whose insatiate ambition grasps the whole universe in his heart1 rolls over the surface of the earth and all its boisterous seas with as much glee as upon a bed of flowers4 #db4 ,all these cities and towns1 which are so tumultuous with the endless of men1 appear to the ignorant and moneyless man as a garden of flowers2 where he picks up his worthless penny with as much delight as holy men cull the fragrant blossoms to make their offerings to holy shrines4 #dc4 ,the wide earth with all her cities and towns1 and distant districts and countries1 which are so full of mutual strife and broil1 appear to the soiled soul of the gross-headed and greedy1 as if they are reflected in their fair forms in the mirror of their minds2 or painted in their bright colours upon the canvas of their hearts4 7,worldly men are so infatuated with the world1 that they take side of things for fair and bright74 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,annihilation ,,of ,,egoism4 ,argument3--,egoism is shown as the root of worldliness and its extirpation by spiritual knowledge4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the abandonment of the world 7which is otherwise termed as liberation--moksha71 is effected only upon subsidence of one's egoism and knowledge of the visibles in the conscious soul2 in the manner of the extinction of a lamp for want of oil4 7,the knowledge of the phenomenal is the root of illusion1 and it is the removal of this that is called the abandonment of the world1 and the cause of liberation74 #b4 ,it is not the giving up of actions1 but the relinquishment of the knowledge of the objective world1 that makes our abandonment of it2 and the subjective soul1 which is without the reflexion of the visible world1 and the objective-self1 is immortal and indestructible4 #c4 ,after the knowledge of the self and this and that with that of mine and thine1 becomes extinct like an extinguished lamp1 there remains only the intelligent and subjective-soul by itself alone 7and it is this state of the soul that is called its extinction--nirvna and its liberation or moksha74 #d4 ,but he whose knowledge of himself and others1 and of mine and thine and his and theirs1 has not yet subsided in his subjectivity1 has neither the intelligence nor tranquility nor abandonment nor extinction of himself4 7,it is opposite of the preceding74 #e4 ,after extinction of one's egoism and meism1 there remains the sole and tranquil and intelligent soul1 beside which there is nothing else in existence4 #f4 ,the egoistic part of the soul being weakened by the power of true knowledge1 every thing in the world wastes away and dwindles into insignificance2 and though nothing is lost in reality1 yet every thing is buried in and with the extinction of the self4 7,so the ,hindi adage3--pduba to jagduba--the self being lost1 all things are lost with it74 #g4 ,the knowledge of the ego is lost under that of the non-ego1 with any delay or difficulty2 and it being so easy to effect it1 there is no need of resorting to the arduous methods for removal of the same4 7,it being easy to ignore the silver in a shell1 it is useless to test it in the fire74 #h4 ,the thoughts of ego and non-ego1 are but false conceits of the mind2 and the mind being as void as the clear sky1 there is no solid foundation for this error4 #i4 ,no error has its vagary anywhere1 unless it moves upon the basis of ignorance1 it grows upon misjudgment1 and vanishes at the light of reason and right judgment4 #aj4 ,know all existence to be the ,intellect only2 which is extended as an unreal vacuity2 therefore sit silent in the empty space of the ,intellect1 wherein all things are extinct as nothing4 7,the reality of the ,divine ,mind1 containing the ideal world which appears as a reality74 #aa4 ,whenever the idea of ego comes to occur in the mind1 it should be put down immediately by its negative idea of the non-ego or that ,i am nothing4 #ab4 ,let the conviction of the non-ego supplant that of the ego1 as a meaningless term1 or as untrue as empty air1 or a flower of the aerial arbour2 and being fixed as an arrow in the bow-string of holy meditation1 strive to hit at the mark of the ,divine ,essence4 #ac4 ,know always your ideas of ego tu--,i and thou1 to be as unreal as empty air2 and being freed from the false idea of every other thing1 get over quickly across the delusive ocean of the world4 #ad4 ,say how is it possible for that senseless and beastly man1 to attain to the highest state of divine perfection1 who is unable to overcome his natural prejudice of egoism4 #ae4 ,he who has been able by his good understanding1 the sixfold beastly appetites of his nature2 is capable of receiving the knowledge of great truths2 and no other asinine man in human shape4 #af4 ,he who has weakened and overcome the inborn feelings of his mind1 becomes the receptacle of all virtue and knowledge1 and is called a man in its proper sense of the word4 #ag4 ,whatever dangers may threaten you on rocks and hills and upon the sea1 you may escape from the same by thinking that they cannot injure your inward soul1 though they may hurt the flesh4 #ah4 ,knowing that your egoism is nothing in reality1 except your false conception of it1 why then do you allow yourself to be deluded by it1 like the ignorant who are misled by their phrenzy8 #ai4 ,there is nothing 7no ego7 here1 that is known to us in its reality2 all our knowledge is erroneous as that of an ornament in gold 7and springs from the general custom of calling it so71 so is our knowledge of the ego which we know not what1 and may be lost by our forgetfulness of it4 7,so the different names and shapes of golden ornaments being forgotten1 we see the substance of gold only common in all of them74 #bj4 ,try to dislodge the thoughts that rise in your mind1 in the manner of the incessant vibrations in the air1 by thinking that you are not the ego1 nor has your ego any foundation at all4 #ba4 ,the man who has not overcome his egotism1 and its concomitants of covetousness1 pride and delusion1 doth in vain attend to these lectures which are useless to him4 #bb4 ,the sense of egoism and tuism which abides in thee1 is no other than the stir of the ,supreme spirit1 which stirs alike in all as motion impels the winds4 #bc4 ,the uncreated world which appears as in act of creation1 is inherent and apparent in the ,supreme soul1 and notwithstanding all its defects and frailty1 it is fair by being situated therein4 7,because a thing however bad1 appears beautiful by its position with the good74 #bd4 ,the ,supreme soul neither rises nor sets at any time2 nor is there anything else besides that ,one1 whether existent or inexistent4 7,all real and potential entities are contained in the mind of ,god74 #be4 ,all this is transcendental in the transcendent spirit of ,god1 and everything is perfect in his perfection4 ,all things are quiet in his tranquility1 and whatever is1 is good by the goodness of the ,great ,god4 #bf4 ,all things are extinct in the unextinguished spirit of ,god1 they are quiet in his quiescence1 and all good in his goodness2 this extinction in the inextinct or ever existent soul of ,god1 is no annihilation of any2 it is understood as the sky1 but is not the sky itself4 #bg4 ,men may bear the strokes of weapons and suffer under the pain of diseases2 and yet how is it that no body can tolerate the thought of his unegoism or extinction4 #bh4 ,the word ego is the ever growing germ of the significance of everything in the world 7i4e4 our selfishness gives growth to our need and want of all things for our use72 and that 7egoism or selfishness7 being rooted out of the mind1 this world also is uprooted from it4 7i4e4 ,think neither of thyself or anything in the world as thine but of the ,lord1 and be exempt from thy cares of both74 #bi4 ,the meaningless word ego1 like empty vapour or smoke1 has the property of soiling the mirror of the soul1 which resumes its brightness after removal of the mist4 #cj4 ,the significance of the word1 ,i or ego1 is as force or fluctuation in the calm and quiet atmosphere2 and this force being still1 the soul resumes its serenity1 as that of the unseen and imperceptible and one eternal and infinite air4 7,here is ,vasishtha's vacuism again74 #ca4 ,the significance of the word ego1 produces the shadow of external objects in the mind2 and that being lost1 there ensues that serenity and tranquility of the soul1 which are the attributes of the unknowable1 infinite and eternal ,god4 #cb4 ,after the cloudy shadow of the sense of the word ego1 is removed from the atmosphere of mind2 there appears the clear firmament of transcendent truth1 shining with serene brightness throughout its infinite sphere4 #cc4 ,after the essence of the soul is purged of its dross1 and there appears no alloy or base metal in it2 it shines with its bright lustre as that of pure gold1 when it is purified from its mixture with copper or other4 #cd4 ,as an insignificant term 7nirabhidhrtha71 bears no accepted sense 7vypadesrtha72 so the unintelligible word ego bearing no definite sense of any particular person1 is equal to the non-ego or impersonal entity of ,brahma4 #ce4 ,it is ,brahma only that resides in the word ego 7i4e4 the word ego is applicable to ,god alone74 #cf4 ,the meaning of the word ego1 which contains the seed of world in it1 is rendered abortive by our ceasing to think of it4 ,then what is the good of using the words ,i and thou1 that serve only to bind our souls to this world4 7,forget yourselves1 to be free from bondage74 #cg4 ,the essence is the pure and felicitous spirit1 which is afterwards soiled under the appellation of ego1 which rises out of that pure essence1 as a pot is produced from the clay2 but the substance is forgot under the form1 as the gold is forgotten under that of the ornament4 #ch4 ,it is this seed of ego1 from which the visible plant of creation takes its rise2 and produces the countless worlds as its fruits1 which grow to fade and fall away4 #ci4 ,the meaning of the word ego1 contains in it like the minute seed of a long pepper1 the wonderful productions of nature1 consisting of the earth and sea1 the hills and rivers1 and forms and colours of things1 with their various natures and actions4 #dj4 ,the heaven and earth1 the air and space1 the hills and rivers on all sides1 are as the fragrance of the full blown flower of the ,ego4 #da4 ,the ,ego in its widest sense1 stretches out to the verge of creation1 and contains all the worlds under it1 as the wide spread day light comprehends all objects and their action under it4 #db4 ,as the early daylight brings to view the forms and shapes and colours of things2 so it is our egoism 7which is but another name for ignorance7 that presents the false appearance of the world to our visual sight4 #dc4 ,when egoism like a particle of dirty oil falls into the pellucid water of ,brahma2 it spreads over its surface in the form of globules1 resembling the orbs of worlds floating in the air4 #dd4 ,egoism sees at a single glance the myriads of worlds spread before its visual sight2 as the blinking eye observes at a twinkling thousands of specks scattered before its sight4 #de4 ,egoism 7selfishness7 being extended too far1 perceives the furthest worlds lying stretched before its sight2 but the unegotist or unselfish soul1 like a sleeping man doth not perceive the nearest object1 as our eyes do not see the pupils lying within them4 #df4 ,it is only upon the total extinction of our egoistic feelings1 by the force of unfailing reasoning2 that we can get rid of the mirage of the world4 #dg4 ,it is by our constant reflection upon our consciousness only1 that it becomes possible for us to attain the great object of our consummation--,siddhi2 and the attainment of the perfection of our souls2 we have nothing more to desire or grieve at nor any fear of falling into error4 #dh4 ,it is possible by your own endeavour1 and without the help of any person or thing1 to attain to thy perfection2 and therefore ,i see no better means for you to this than the thought of your unegoism4 #di4 ,now ,rma1 this is the abstract of the whole doctrine1 that you forget your ego and tu1 and extend the sphere of our soul all over the universe1 and behold them all in yourself4 ,remain quite calm and quiet and without any sorrow1 and exempt from all acts and pursuits of the frail and false world1 and think the soul as one whole and not a part of the universe4 7,samashti and not ,vyashta74 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,narrative ,,of ,a ,,vidy,,dhara ,,and ,,his ,,queries4 ,argument4--,vasishtha relates the tale spoken to him by ,bhusunda1 and efficacy of divine knowledge in dispassionate souls and not in ungoverned minds4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the sensible man who employs himself in his inquiry after truth1 after controlling his nature1 and restraining his organs of sense from their objects1 becomes successful in them at last4 #b4 ,but the man of perverted understanding1 that has no command over his own nature1 finds it as impossible for him to gain any good or better state1 as it is in vain to expect to obtain any oil from pressing the sands4 #c4 ,a little instruction even is as impressive in the pure mind1 as a drop of oil sticks to the clean linen2 but no education has any effect on the hard heart of fools1 as the most brilliant pearl makes no impression in the gritty glass mirror4 7,it casts but a shadow which never lasts74 #d4 ,i will here cite an instance to this purport1 from an old anecdote related to me by the aged ,bhusunda in by gone days2 when ,i was living with him on the top of ,sumeru mountain4 7,this proves the longevity of the ,aryans in the ancient homestead beyond the ,altain chain74 #e4 ,i had once in times of old1 mooted this question among other things to the time worn ,bhusunda1 when he was dwelling in his solitary retreat in one of the caves of ,meru1 saying3-- #f4 ,o long living seer1 do you remember to have ever seen1 any such person of infatuated understanding1 who was unconscious of himself and ignorant of his own soul8 7,the mugdha or infatuated is explained as one of ungoverned mind and senses and employed in vain labour and toil74 #g4 ,bhusunda replied3--,yes1 there lived a ,vidydhara of old1 on the top of the mountain on the horizon2 who was greatly distressed with incessant toil1 and yet anxious for his longevity 7by performance of his devotion for prolongation of life74 #h4 ,he betook himself to austerities of various kinds1 and to the observance of abstinence1 self-restraint and vows of various forms2 and obtained thereby an undecaying life1 which lasted for many ages of four kalpas of four yugas each4 #i4 ,at the end of the fourth kalpa he came to his sense1 and his percipience burst forth on a sudden in his mind1 as the emeralds glare out of ground in the distant country 7of ,burmah72 at the roaring of clouds4 7,emeralds are called vaidryas below from their production in the vidura or distant land of ,burmah2 where there are many ruby mines also2 but vaidryas are the sky coloured sapphire or lapis lazuli2 and often called as emeralds74 #aj4 ,he then reflected in himself saying3--,what stability can ,i have in this world1 where all beings are seen to come repeatedly into existence1 to decay with age1 and at last to die and dwindle away into nothing8 ,i am ashamed to live in this state of things and under such a course of nature4 #aa4 ,with these reflections he came to me1 quite disgusted in his spirit at the frailties of the world1 and distasteful of banefull vanities2 and then proposed to me his query regarding the city with its eighteen compartments4 7i4e4 ,the body with its ten organs1 five vital airs1 the mind1 soul1 and body74 #ab4 ,he advanced before me1 and bowed down profoundly2 and after being honoured by me1 he took the opportunity to propose his questions to me4 #ac4 ,the ,vidydhara said3--,i see these organs of my body1 which though so frail1 are yet as hard and strong as any weapon of steel2 they are capable of breaking and tearing every thing1 and hurtful in their acts of injuring others4 #ad4 ,i find my senses to be dim and dark1 and always disturbed and leading to dangers 7by their mistake of things74 ,again the passions in the heart1 are setting fire to the forest of our good qualities1 and boiling with the waves of sorrow and grief2 while the dark ignorance of our minds1 envelops every thing in the deepest gloom4 ,hence it is that the control1 over our bodily organs1 senses and the passions and feelings of the heart and mind1 is only attended with our real happiness1 which is not to be had from any object of sense4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,description ,,of ,,disaffection ,,and ,,disgust ,,to ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,indifference and ,apathy to the world1 based on the ,doctrines of the stoics and cynics1 and the religious ,recluses of all nations and ,countries in every age4 ,the ,vidydhara continued3--,tell me even now1 what is that most noble state 7or highest category71 which is devoid of increase or decrease or any pain whatever2 which is without beginning and end1 and which is most sanctified and sanctifying4 #b4 ,i had been so long sleeping as an inert soul1 and now ,i am awakened to sense by the grace of the ,supreme ,soul3 7displayed in the present vairgya or dispassionateness of the speaker74 #c4 ,my mind is heated with the fervour of the fever of my insatiate desire1 and is full of regret at the state of my ignorance2 now raise me from the depth of darkness in which ,i am grovelling under my delusion4 #d4 ,many a time doth misfortune overtake the fortunate1 and bitter sorrows betide the wise and learned2 just as the hoar-frost falls on the tender leaves of lotuses1 and discolours them at the end4 #e4 ,we see the frail living beings springing to birth1 and dying away at all times to no purposes1 they are neither for virtuous acts nor their liberation1 but are born to die only1 as the gnats and ephemera of dirt4 7,the ,vidydhara like the cynic1 finds fault with every earthly thing74 #f4 ,how have ,i passed through different stages of life1 how with one state of things and then with another1 and deceived by the gain of paltry trifles4 ,we are always discontent with the present state1 and cheated repeatedly by the succeeding one4 #g4 ,the unwearied mind1 ever running after its frail pleasures1 and floating as it were upon the breakers of its enjoyments1 has no end of its rambling1 nor rest after its toils2 but wanders onward in the desert paths of this dreary world4 #h4 ,the objects of enjoyment1 that are the causes of our bondage in this world1 and appear as very charming and sweet at first2 are all frail and ever changeful in their natures1 and prove to be our bane at last4 #i4 ,actuated by our consorting egoism1 and led by the sense of honour to live in dishonour1 ,i am degraded from the dignity my high birth as a vidydhara1 and am not pleased with myself4 #aj4 ,i have seen the pleasure garden of ,chitra-ratha 7the chief of the ,gandharva tribe72 and all the sweet and soft flowery beds on earth2 ,i have slept under the bowers of ,kalpa ,creepers in paradise1 and have given away all my wealth and property in charity4 #aa4 ,i have sported in the groves of ,meru1 and about the cities of the ,vidydharas2 ,i have wandered about in heavenly cars1 and in the aerial regions on all sides 7in balloons or aerial cars74 #ab4 ,i have halted amidst the heavenly forces1 and reposed on the arms of my consorts2 ,i have joined the bands of ,haris in their jocund frolic and music1 and have promenaded through the cities of the rulers of mankind4 #ac4 ,i saw nothing of any worth among them1 except the bitter sorrow of my heart in all2 and ,i come now to find by my best reason1 that every thing is burnt down to ashes before me4 #ad4 ,my eyes which by their visual power1 are ever inclined to dwell upon the sights of things1 and to dote with fondness upon the face of my mistress1 have been the cause of great affliction to my mind4 #ae4 ,my eye-sight runs indiscriminately after all beautiful objects1 without its power of considering1 whether this or that is for our good or bad3 7i4e4 ,without the power of penetrating into and distinguishing the properties and qualities of objects74 #af4 ,my mind also1 which is ever prompt to meet all hazards1 and to expose itself to all kinds of restraints1 never finds its rest until it is overwhelmed under some danger1 and brought under the peril of death4 #ag4 ,my scent likewise is ever alert in seeking after fragrant and delicious things to its own peril1 and it is difficult for me to repress it1 as it is hard for one to restrain an unruly horse4 #ah4 ,i am restrained by the sense of my smelling to the two canals of my nostrils1 bearing the putrid breath and cough and cold of the body2 and am constrained like a prisoner or captive of war to the dungeon by my jailer or captor4 #ai4 ,it is on account of this lickerish tongue of mine1 that ,i am forced to seek for my food in these rugged and dreary rocks1 which are the haunt of wild elephants1 and where the wolves are prying for their forage4 7,from this it appears that1 the ,vidydharas were a tribe of mountaineers in the north of the ,himalayas74 #bj4 ,i am to restrain the sensitiveness of my body1 and to make my skin 7the twak indreya or the organ of feeling71 to endure the heat of the hot weather of the kindled fire and of the burning sun 7all which it is necessary to be undergone in the austere devotion known as ,panchatapa74 #ba4 ,my ears1 sir1 which ought to take a delight in the hearing of good lectures1 are always inclined to listen to talk that are no way profitable to me2 but mislead me to wrong2 as the grassy turf covering a well1 tempts the silly stag to his ruin4 #bb4 ,i have listened to the endearing speeches of my friends and servants1 and attended to the music of songs and instruments1 to no lasting good being derived therefrom4 7,sensuous pleasures are transient1 and are not attended with any permanent good74 #bc4 ,i have beheld the beauty of beauties1 and the natural beauty of objects on all sides2 ,i have seen the sublimity of mountains and seas1 and the grandeur of their sides and borders2 ,i have witnessed the prosperity of princes and the brilliancy of gem and jewels4 #bd4 ,i have long tasted the sweets of the most delicious dishes1 and have relished the victuals of the six different savours1 that were served to me by the handsomest damsels4 #be4 ,i have associated with the lovely damsels clad in their silken robes1 and wearing their necklaces of pearls1 reclined on beds of flowers and fanned by soft breezes2 ,i have had all these pleasures of touch1 and enjoyed them unrestrained in my pleasure gardens4 #bf4 ,i have smelt the odours on the faces of fairy damsels1 and have had the smell of fragrant balms1 perfumeries and flowers2 and ,i have inhaled the fragrance1 borne to me by the breath of the soft1 gentle and odoriferous breezes4 #bg4 ,thus have ,i seen and heard1 felt and smelt1 and repeatedly tasted whatever sweets this earth could afford4 ,they have now become dry1 distasteful1 stale and unpleasurable to me2 say what other sweet is there left for me yet to enjoy4 #bh4 ,i have enjoyed all these enjoyments of my senses for a full thousand years1 and still ,i find nothing either in this earth or in heaven1 which is able to yield full satisfaction to my mind4 #bi4 ,i have reigned for a longtime over a realm1 and enjoyed the company of the courtezans in my court1 ,i have vanquished the forces of my enemies in battle1 but ,i know not great gain ,i have gained thereby4 7,all is vanity of vanities only74 #cj4 ,those 7demons7 that were invulnerable in warfare1 and usurped to the dominion of the three worlds1 even those invincible giants1 have been reduced to ashes in a short time4 #ca4 ,i think that to be the best gain1 which being once gained by us1 there remains nothing else to be desired or gained herein2 ,i must now therefore1 remain in quest of that precious gain1 however it may be attended with pain4 #cb4 ,what difference is there between those1 who have enjoyed the most delightful pleasures1 and others that have never enjoyed them at all2 nobody has ever seen the heads of the former kind crowned with kalpa laurels1 nor the latter with diminished heads4 #cc4 ,i have been long led by my organs of sense1 to the enjoyment of beautiful objects in the wilderness of the world1 and have been quite deceived by them like a child by cheat4 7,all enticements are deceitful at the end74 #cd4 ,i have come too late and to-day only to know1 that the objects of my senses are my greatest enemies2 and this ,i have known after being repeatedly deceived by my organs of sense4 #ce4 ,i see the deceitful organs of sense like so many sly huntsmen1 have laid their snares about the wild forest of this world1 only to entrap all unwary people in them1 as they do the silly stags or beasts of prey by enticements4 #cf4 ,there are but very few men in this world1 who are not found to be envenomed by the deadly poison of their serpent-like organs of sense4 #cg4 ,the forest of the world is full with the furious elephants of enjoyments1 and surrounded by the snare of our desire1 wherein our greediness is roving rampant with sword in hand1 and our passions are stirring like keen spearmen1 and rending our hearts and souls every moments4 #ch4 ,our bodies are become as a field of battle1 where the commanding charioteer of our egoism hath spread the net of duplicity1 by employing our efforts as horsemen1 and setting our desires as boisterous rioters4 #ci4 ,the organs of sense are set as flag-bearers1 at the extremities of the battle-field of our bodies2 and they are reckoned as the best soldiers1 who are able by their prowess to overtake these staff-bearers in the field4 #dj4 ,it may be possible for us1 to pierce the frontal bone even of the furious ,airvata elephant of ,indra in war2 but it is too hard for any body1 to repress the aberrant senses within their proper bounds4 #da4 ,it is reckoned as the greatest victory1 that may be won by the valour1 magnanimity1 and fortitude of great men1 if they can but conquer the unconquerable organs of sense1 which makes the utmost glory of the great 7or which redounds with the greatest to the great74 #db4 ,so long as a man is not flung and carried about as a light and trifling straw1 by the irresistible force of his sensual appetites1 he is said to have attained to the perfection and excellence of the deities of heaven4 #dc4 ,i account men of well governed senses and those of great fortitude1 to be truly men in their sense1 or else all other men of ungoverned minds1 are mere moving machines of the flesh and bones that compose their bodies4 #dd4 ,o ,sage6 ,i think ,i can overcome all things1 if ,i can but reduce the force of the five external organs of sense1 which form the battalion under the command of the mind 7and is led against the province of the soul74 #de4 ,unless you can heal your sensual appetites1 which forms the great malady of the mind1 by the prescriptions of your reason1 you cannot get rid of them by any medicine or mantra1 or by holy pilgrimage or any other remedy4 7,the subjection of the senses1 is the first step to holiness74 #df4 ,i am led to great distress by the joint force of my senses1 as a lonely traveller is waylaid in his journey by a gang of robbers4 7,it may be possible to withstand any particular appetite but not all at once74 #dg4 ,the organs of sense are as dirty canals of the body1 with their stagnate and foul watery matter1 they are filled with noxious and hairy moss1 and emit a malarious stink4 #dh4 ,the senses seem to me as so many deep and dark forests1 covered with impervious snows1 and full of terrors that render them impassable to travellers4 #di4 ,the organs of the outward senses resemble the stalks of lotuses1 growing upon the dirt of the body with holes in them1 but without any visible thread therein4 ,they are knotty on the outside1 and without any sensibility of their own2 7except what is supplied to them by the soul74 #ej4 ,our sensualities are as so many seas with their briny waters1 and huge billows dashing on every side2 they abound with various gems and pearls1 but are full of horrible whales and sharks at the same time4 #ea4 ,sensual pleasure brings on the untimely death of the sensualist1 and causes the grief and sadness of his friends there-in2 it makes others to take pity on his state1 and mourn at his fate1 which conducts him to repeated transmigrations only4 #eb4 ,the senses are as vast and unlimited wilderness to men1 which prove friendly to the wise1 and inimical to the unwise4 #ec4 ,the sphere of the senses is as dark as that of the clouded sky1 where the black clouds of distress are continually growling1 and the lightnings of joy are incessantly flashing with their transient glare4 #ed4 ,the organs of sense are as subterranean cells or mounds of mud upon earth2 these are resorted to by inferior animals1 but shunned by superior and intelligent beings4 #ee4 ,they are like hidden caves on earth overspread with thorns and brambles1 and inbred with venomous snakes1 in which the unwary fall to be smitten and bitten to death4 #ef4 ,all sensualities are as savage ,rkshasas or cannibals1 that rove and revel about in their venturous excursions in the darkness of night2 and glut themselves with human victims4 #eg4 ,our organs of sense are as dry sticks1 all hollow and pithless in the inside2 they are crooked and full of joints all along1 and fit only as fuel for fire4 #eh4 ,the bodily organs are the instruments of vice1 and are as pits and thickets on our way2 they are fitted with dirt within1 like the notes of canes and reeds that are full of useless stuff4 #ei4 ,the organic limbs and members are the implements of action1 and the apparatus for producing an infinite variety of works4 ,they are like the potter's wheels1 turning and whirling with their mud1 in order to produce the fragile pottery of clay4 #fj4 ,thus ,sir1 ,i am plunged in the dangerous sea of my sensual appetites1 and you alone are able to raise me out of it by your kindness to me2 because they say1 that holy saints only are victorious over their senses in this world1 and it is their society only that removes the griefs of mankind1 and saves them from the perilous sea of sensuality4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,seed ,,of ,,the ,,arbour ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,the arbor of the world as growing from the seed of ,ignorance in the soil of ,ignorance4 ,bhusunda replied3--,having heard the aforesaid holy speech of the ,vidydhara1 ,i answered to what he asked in plain words as follows4 #b4 ,well said1 ,o chief of the ,vidydharas1 and it proves thee to be awakened to thy good sense by thy good fortune for thy edification1 that thou dost after so long desire to be raised1 out of the dark pit and dungeon of the world4 #c4 ,thy holy intentions shine as bright as the blazing clouds in the midday light2 and as pure liquid gold melted down by the fire of right reasoning4 #d4 ,thy clear mind will be able to grasp the meaning1 of my admonition to you with ease2 as the clean mirror is capable of receiving the reflexion of every object set before it4 7,the clear mind like a clear mirror reflects every thing in it74 #e4 ,you must give your assent to what ,i say1 by uttering the syllable ,om--yes to the same2 as you can have no doubt to take for certain truth1 what ,i have come to know by my long research4 #f4 ,know well and by giving up your ignorance1 that what thou feelest within thee 7i4e4 thy egoism71 is not thy very self2 and it is hard to have it 7your soul or self71 notwithstanding your long search after the same4 #g4 ,know it for certain that there is no egoism or tuism 7i4e4 subjective or objective knowledge71 nor even this phenomenal world1 that may be called the real entity2 but all this is the blissful ,god1 who is no cause of either thy happiness or misery 7but reigns absolutely supreme in himself74 #h4 ,whether this world is a creation of our ignorance1 or whether it is ignorance itself1 is what we cannot ascertain by our reasoning2 because there being but one simple entity alone1 there is no possibility of the co-existence of the duality 7of subjective and objective74 #i4 ,the world appears as the water in the mirage2 it is unsubstantial and though appearing as something real1 it is in reality nothing at all4 ,the phenomenon that appears to view1 is himself and nothing otherwise4 #aj4 ,the world being as the water in the mirage 7a mere nullity72 there is neither its existence nor its inexistence neither1 there can be no reflexion of it either 7because a void has no shadow72 and therefore it must be but ,god himself4 #aa4 ,the seed of the world is the ,ego or the subjective self1 and the ,tu or the objective world1 is to be known as derived from the subjective self or egoism4 ,such being the case1 the visible world with all its lands and seas1 its mountains and rivers and gods also1 is the huge tree growing out of the same seminal source of egoism4 #ab4 ,the great arbour of the worlds1 grows out of the particle of egoism2 the organs of sense are the succulent roots of this tree2 and the far overspreading orbs of the sky1 are the many divergent branches of the main arbor of the mundane world4 #ac4 ,the starry frame in the sky1 is the netted canopy over this arbour on high2 and the groups of constellations1 are bunches of blossoms of this tree2 the desires of men are as the long fibres and lengthening filaments of the tree1 and the lightsome moons are the ripe fruits thereof4 #ad4 ,the many spheres of heaven1 are the hollows of this large and great tree2 and the ,meru1 ,mandara and other mountains1 are its protuberant boughs and branches4 #ae4 ,the seven oceans are the ditches of water1 dug at the foot and root of this tree2 and the infernal region is the deep pit underlying the root of this tree2 the yugas and cycles of periods are its knots and joints1 and the rotation of time over it1 is as the circle of worms sucking up its juice for evermore4 #af4 ,our ignorance is the ground of its growth1 and all peoples are as flights of birds hovering upon it2 its false apprehension forms its great trunk1 which is burnt down by the conflagration of nirvna or our knowledge of the utter extinction of all things4 #ag4 ,the sights of things1 the thoughts of the mind1 and the various pleasures of the world1 are all as false as a grove or forest in the sky2 or as silver in the face of the hoary clouds1 or in the coating of conch and pearl shells4 #ah4 ,the seasons are its branches 7in which they grow and wither away72 and the ten sides of the air are its smaller boughs2 because they spread themselves in all directions2 self-consciousness is the pith and marrow of this tree 7and of all sensible creatures71 and the wind of the air is the breath of life1 that fluctuates in every part of this tree of the world4 #ai4 ,the sun-shine and moon-beams1 are the two flowers of this tree2 their rising and setting represent the opening and closing of blossoms2 and the daylight and darkness of night1 are as butterflies and bumble bees fluttering over them4 #bj4 ,know at last1 that one all pervading ignorance1 extends all over this tree of the world2 stretching from its root in the ,tartarus1 on all sides of the compass and its top in the heavens above4 ,it is all an unreality appearing as real existence1 and egoism which is the seed of this fallacy1 being burnt up by the fire un-egoism1 it will no more vegetate in the form of this arbour of the world2 nor put forth itself in future births and continuous transmigrations in this visionary world4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,temple ,,of ,,illusion4 ,argument3--,destruction of the arbor of the ,world by the fire of reason1 and description of the fabric of the world as the mansion of ,delusion--,my-mandapa4 ,bhusunda continued and said3--,now ,vidydhara6 ,you have heard1 how the mundane arbor comprises the earth with her mountains and cavern abodes1 and stretches to all sides and touches the skies1 bearing all living being continually moving and living upon it 7i4e4 its produce74 #b4 ,such is the mundane tree1 growing out of the seed of egoism2 but this seed being roasted by the fire of reason1 ceases to sprout forth anymore 7i4e4 into new life in future births74 #c4 ,the visibles are not existent1 nor is ,i or thou 7i4e4 the subjective or objective7 ever a positive reality1 and this fallacy of their positivity is wholly burnt away by the knowledge of tajjnna or their identity with ,god 7i4e4 in the extinction of all distinctive knowledge in the entity of the sole unity74 #d4 ,as it is the thought of ,i and thou that begets the idea of egoism and tuism1 which becomes the seed of the world2 so it is the thought of non-ego et tu1 that removes the idea of egoism and tuism1 and this is the true and best knowledge of ,god4 #e4 ,think of the inexistence of the world before its creations1 and say where was then this knowledge of egoism and tuism1 or this delusion of the unity or duality4 #f4 ,those who strive diligently to get rid of their desires altogether1 according to the instructions of their preceptors 7as given before72 verily they become successful in obtaining the supreme state 7of the knowledge and presence of ,god74 #g4 ,as the confectioner becomes skilful in his profession1 by his learning and practice of the art of confectionary2 so the inquirer after truth becomes successful by constant application to it and by no other means4 7,so also doth the yogi thrive in his yoga1 by and under the direction of his spiritual guide74 #h4 ,know the world to be the wonderful phenomenon of the intellect1 and it does not exist in the outer space as it appears to the naked eye1 but in the inner mind 7which bears the prototype of the world74 #i4 ,as a picture is the fac-simile of the pattern1 which is inscribed in the painter's mind2 so it is the twinkling of our thought only1 that unfolds or obscures the world unto us by its opening and closing4 #aj4 ,this thought or fancy of the mind1 portrays to sight a large edifice supported upon big and huge columns1 and studded with gems and pearls2 and gilt over with gildings of bright gold4 #aa4 ,it is surrounded by a thousand pillars of precious stones1 rising high like the pinnacles of ,sumeru2 and emitting the various of the rainbows1 and glittering with the brightness of the evening sun on the clouds4 #ab4 ,it is furnished with many a fountain 7of the seas and rivers71 for the sport of men1 women1 and children living under it2 and amidst the decorations of all kinds of animals in it4 #ac4 ,it is full of elements1 with its enemy of darkness that is light1 darkness and light are its alternate result1 hence it has derived its name--chitra picture4 #ad4 ,there were lakes of lotuses with kalpa trees1 beside them for the sport of women1 who plucked their flowers for their decorations of them1 and which scattered about their fragrance as plentifully2 as the clouds sprinkle their rain-waters all around4 #ae4 ,here the great kulchalas or boundary mountains1 were as light as toys in the hands of boys2 and they were tossed and whirled about as play things1 by the breath of little lads4 7i4e4 ,mountains are minute things with respect to the great fabric of the universe74 #af4 ,here the bright evening clouds were as the glittering earrings of the ladies1 and the light and fleet autumn clouds like flying fans and flappers2 the heavy clouds of the rainy season1 moved as slow as the waving fans of palm leaves2 and the orb of the earth moved about as a dice on the chess-board1 under the canopy of the starry heavens4 #ag4 ,here all living creatures and the sun and moon1 are moving about as the dice and king and queen on the chess-board2 and the appearance and disappearance of the world in the arena of vacuum1 are as the gain or loss in the chess play of the gods 7,brahm and others74 #ah4 ,as a thought that is long dwelt upon and brooded over in the mind1 comes to appear as really present before the sight of its entertainer 7i4e4 as the imagination assumes the shape of an apparition to sight74 #ai4 ,so is this formal world a visible representation of the thoughts or workings of the mind1 it is as an exquisite performance of the mind of the artist1 from the prototype ingrafted in the soul4 #bj4 ,it is the apparition of an unreality1 and is present in appearance but absent in substance2 it is verily the appearance of an unreality1 by whatever cause it may have come to appear4 7,the ,cause is said to be the original ignorance or delusion 7di-avidy or my774 #ba4 ,it is as the sight of the forms of ornaments1 in the same substance of gold2 and the vault of the world1 is as full of ever changing wonders1 as the changeful and wondrous thoughts of the mind4 ,wherefore it is the cessation of thought1 that causes the extinction of the world4 7,nothing exists to us whereof we have no thought74 #bb4 ,hence it lies entirely in your power1 to have or leave the world as you may like2 either disregard your temporal enjoyments1 if you have your final liberation2 or continue in your acts and rites1 in order to continue in your repeated transmigrations through endless births and deaths4 #bc4 ,i understand you have attained your state of rationality2 and have purified your soul in this your second or third stage of ,yoga2 ,i believe you will not fall back or come down to a lower order1 therefore hold your silence and rely in the purity of the soul and shut out invisibles from your sight4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,on ,,the ,,development ,,of ,,intellect4 ,argument3--,description of the ,intellect1 as cause of the appearance and disappearance of the ,world4 ,bhusunda said3--,the unintelligible objects of thought are phenomena of the intellect2 they lie as calmly in the great mass or inert body of the intellect1 as the sunbeams shine in the bosom of a clear basin of water 7where they retain their light without their heat74 #b4 ,the unintelligent world subsists in the intelligent intellect1 by its power of intellection2 and remains alike with the unlike 7i4e4 matter with the mind71 as the submarine fire resides in the water1 and the latent heat with cold4 #c4 ,the intelligent and the unintelligent 7i4e4 the subjective ,i and the objective--these7 have both their source in the intellection of the intellect1 which produces and reduces them from and into itself1 as it is the same force of the wind1 which kindles as well as extinguishes the fire4 #d4 ,do you rest in the intellect1 which remains after negation of your egoism 7which is the cause of both the subjective and the objective73 and remain in that calm and quiet state of the soul1 which results from your thinking in this manner4 7i4e4 ,by forgetting yourself1 you forget everything else besides the wakeful intellect74 #e4 ,thou art settled in thy form of the intellect1 both within and without every thing2 as the sweet water remains in and out of a raining cloud4 7,the gloss explains it saying that1 after you are freed from all thoughts1 you see the sole ,brahma only74 #f4 ,there is nothing as ,i or thou1 but all are forms of one intellect1 and connected with the same which is ,brahma itself2 there is none else besides which is endued with intelligence1 but the whole is one stupendous intelligence1 with which nothing can be compared4 #g4 ,it is itself the earth1 heaven and nether world1 with their inhabitants of men1 gods and demigods2 and exhibits in itself the various states of their being and actions 7as upon its stage74 #h4 ,as the world is seen to remain quietly1 in its representation map2 so doth the universe appear from its portraiture in the vacuum or ample space of the divine mind4 #i4 ,hence we see the various appearances1 as the divine mind unfolds from itself and exhibits to view2 as it depends on your option1 either to view them as animated or inanimated beings2 7as you may choose to do the figures of animals1 drawn in a picture74 #aj4 ,these are the wondrous phenomena of the intellect1 which appear as so many worlds in the open sky2 they are as the mirage spread over by the sun-beams for delusion of the ignorant2 while they appear as empty air to the learned1 who view them in their true light4 #aa4 ,as the blinded eye1 beholds spectres and spectrums in the clear sky2 so doth the world appear as a phantom and phantasmagoria1 before the purblind sight of the unspiritual and ignorant people in general4 #ab4 ,thus the knowledge of the objective world1 and that of the subjective ego1 are mere reflexions of the ideas in the mind1 which appear and disappear by turns2 just as a city is gilded or shaded by the falling and failing of the sunbeams thereon2 but in this case city houses are realities1 but the apparitions of the mind1 are as baseless as garden in the empty sky4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,description ,,of ,,creation ,,as ,,an ,,emanation ,,from ,,brahma4 ,argument3--,brahma existing without attributes and functions1 and the inexistence of the world at anytime or any where beside him4 ,bhusunda continued3--,know ,o ,vidydhara6 the world as an evolution of ,divine intelligence1 and not as an inert mass and distinct from that intelligence as it appears to be4 ,and as the reflexion of fire 7or fiery sunbeams7 in water1 is nothing different from the nature of the cold water2 so the reflexion of the world in the ,divine intelligence1 is not at all distinct from the substance of that ,intelligence itself4 #b4 ,therefore remain at rest without making any distinction1 between your knowledge of the world or its absence2 7because the refutation of the existence of gross matter altogether1 refutes the existence of the gross world also72 and because a picture drawn only on the tablet of the painter's mind1 and not painted on an outward plate1 is as false as the knowledge of the fairy land in the empty air or vacuum4 #c4 ,the omnipotence of ,brahma contains also the insensible 7or gross7 matter in his intelligence2 as the calm and clear water of the sea contains the matter of the future froth and foam within itself4 #d4 ,as the froth is not produced in the water1 without some cause or other2 so the creation never proceeds from the essence of ,brahma1 without its particular cause also4 7,this cause is said to be ,my74 #e4 ,but the uncaused and causeless ,brahma1 can have no cause whatever for his creation of the world2 nor is any thing at this world or other1 ever born or destroyed in himself4 7,no material substance is ever born or lost in the spiritual essence of ,god74 #f4 ,the entire want of a cause 7either material or formal71 makes the growth and formation of the world an utter impossibility1 it is as impossible as the growth of a forest or the sight of a sea in the mirage of a desert as it appears to be4 #g4 ,the nature of ,brahma is being the same as infinity and eternity1 it is tranquil and immutable at all times2 and is not therefore liable to entertain a thought or will of the creation at anytime4 ,thus there being no temporary cause for such1 the world itself must be identic with ,brahma himself4 #h4 ,therefore the nature of ,brahma is both as empty as the hollow vacuity of air1 as also as dense as the density of a rock2 so it is the solidity of ,brahma that represents the solid cosmos1 as his tenuity displays the inane atmosphere4 #i4 ,whether you can understand anything or nothing1 regarding the mysterious nature of the ,deity1 remain quite unconcerned about it2 and rest your soul in that ,supreme spirit1 wherein all intelligence and its absence are both alike4 7,to him no great or small but are all alike74 #aj4 ,the everlasting bliss of the uncreated ,god1 has no cause for his creation of the world1 which cannot augment his bliss2 therefore know all that is and exists to the increate ,god himself1 from the improbability of his making a creation to no purpose whatsoever4 #aa4 ,of what use is it to reason with the ignorant1 concerning the production and destruction of creation 7i4e4 about the existence or inexistence of the objective world72 when they have not the ,divine ,intellect in their view 7as all in all or as both the subjective and objective in itself74 #ab4 ,wherever there is the ,supreme being1 there is the same accompanied with the worlds also 7as it is impossible to have the idea of ,god1 without the association of the world72 because the meaning of the word world1 conveys the sense of their variety4 #ac4 ,the supreme ,brahma is present in everything in all places1 such as in the woods and grass1 in the habitable earth and in the waters likewise4 ,so the creatures of ,god teem in every part of creation together with the all-creative power4 #ad4 ,it is improper to ask1 what is the nature and constitution of ,brahma2 because there is no possibility of ascertaining the essence and absence of the properties of that infinite and transcendental entity4 #ae4 ,all want--abhva being wanting in him1 who is full--prna in himself2 and any particular nature--bhva being inapplicable to the infinite ,one1 who comprehends all nature in him2 all words significant of his nature are mere paralogism4 #af4 ,inexistence and non-entity being altogether impossible1 of the everlasting and self-existent being2 who is always existent in his own essence1 any word descriptive of his nature1 is but a misrepresentation of his true nature and quality4 #ag4 ,he is neither ,i nor thou 7the subjective or the objective72 who is unknowable to the understanding1 and invisible to the people in all the worlds2 and yet ,he is represented as such and such1 as false phantoms of the brain which presents themselves as ghosts to boys4 #ah4 ,that which is free from or beyond the sense of ,i and thou--the subject and object1 is known as the truly ,supreme2 but what is seen under the sense of ,i and thou1 proves to be null and void4 #ai4 ,the distinction of the world from the essence of ,brahma1 is entirely lost in the sight of them1 that have unity of ,brahma only before their view4 ,the subjective and objective are of equal import to them1 who believe all sensible objects as mere productions of fancy from the very substance of ,brahma1 as the various ornaments are but transformations of the same material of gold c4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,on ,,truth ,,and ,,right ,,knowledge4 ,argument3--,subjection of the senses followed by the government of the ,mind2 and ,indifference to visible objects4 ,bhusunda continued3--,he is said to be situated in the seat of the ,supreme1 who has his mind unmoved at the stroke of a weapon of his bare body1 as also at the touch of a form with his naked person4 7,one must practice his self-controul until he attains to this state of insensibility of both his body and mind74 #b4 ,one must strive by exercise of his manly powers and patience1 to practice his rigid hebetude or stoicity1 as long as he attains to his somnolence or hypnotism over all visible appearances4 7,hypnotism is asleep over the phenomenal1 but wakeful to the spiritual74 #c4 ,the wise man who is acquainted with the truths of nature1 is not to be thwarted back by the severest tribulation and persecution2 as the heaving waves of the lake1 cannot submerge the lotus that stands firm amidst its water4 #d4 ,he who is impassive as the empty air1 to the strokes of weapons on his person1 and unaffected by the embraces of beauties2 is the only person who sees inwardly what is worth seeing3 7though he is outwardly as insensible as a block of stone74 #e4 ,as poison breeds the rust in itself1 which is not different from the nature of poison4 #f4 ,so the infinity of souls which are produced in the ,supreme spirit1 retain the nature of their original2 and which they are capable of knowing4 #g4 ,as the insect that is born in the poison1 does not die by the same2 so the human soul which is produced by the eternal soul1 is not subject to death1 nor does it forsake its own nature1 though it takes a grosser form like the vile figure of the poisonous insects4 #h4 ,things born in or produced by ,brahma1 are of the same nature with itself1 though different from it in appearance2 such is the rust and mustiness of meat1 which adheres to the food and appears as otherwise4 ,so the world subsisting in ,brahma1 seems as something without it4 7,the fruit is alike its tree1 though unlike to it in its shape and size74 #i4 ,no worm is born in poison1 that does not retain the nature of poison2 it never dies in it without being revivified in the same4 7,all things that are seen to die in nature1 have only to be regenerated in another form1 or as it is said 8we die but to be born again074 #aj4 ,it is owing to the indestructible property of self-consciousness1 that all beings pass over the great gulph of death1 as they leap over a gap in the ground hide by the foot mark of a bull 7goshpad74 #aa4 ,why is it1 that men neglect to lay hold on that blessed state1 which is beyond and above all other states in life1 and which when had1 infuses a cool calmness in the soul8 #ab4 ,what a great stain it is to the pure soul1 to neglect the meditation of the glorious ,god1 before which our mind1 egoism and understanding1 do all vanish into nothing or insignificance4 #ac4 ,as you look upon a pot and a piece of cloth as mere trifles1 so should you consider your body as brittle as glass1 and your mind1 understanding and egoism also as empty nothing4 #ad4 ,therefore it is for the wise and learned1 to divert their attention from all worldly things1 as also from their internal powers of the mind and understanding2 and to remain steadfast in their consciousness of the soul4 #ae4 ,the wise man takes no notice of the faults or merits of others2 nor does he take heed of the happiness or misery of himself or any body2 knowing well that no one is the doer or sufferer of anything whatever4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,on ,,the ,,identity ,,of ,,the ,,will ,,and ,,its ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,desire ,,and ,,its ,,production4 ,argument3--,the falsity of egoism1 and the futility of the expansion of the intellect in creation4 ,ignorance as the cause of this fallacy and the manner of its removal4 ,bhusunda continued3--,as the supposition of one vacuity 7as that subsisting in a pot or any spot71 to be a part or derived from the universal vacuum is false and wrong2 so the conception of the visionary ego 7as produced from the unknown vacuum ,brahma71 is altogether an error4 7i4e4 ,the error of conceiving a subtile or gross spirit called the ego1 proceeds from ignorance of the ,true ,spirit74 #b4 ,the erroneous conception of limited vacuities1 being produced from the unlimited vacuum1 has given rise to the mistaken belief of unreal and individual souls1 as proceeding from the one universal and undivided soul of ,god4 #c4 ,the divine intellect exists in the form of air in air1 which it takes for its body2 it is manifest throughout the aerial sphere and therefore ,i am neither the ego nor the non-ego either4 7,man is the ego in his intellectual part1 and the non-ego in his material frame74 #d4 ,the unity of the subtile intellect is of such a nature1 that it contains the gravity of the immense world in it 7i4e4 in its thought72 in the same manner as a ponderous mountain is contained in an atom 7or as it is composed of atomic particles74 ,the conscious intellect is of the form of air 7empty and all pervading in its nature74 7,this is another instance of the vacuous essence of ,god1 according to the vacuistic theory of ,vasishtha74 #e4 ,the intellect which is rarer than subtile air1 thinks in itself the gross nature of unintellectual matter2 which exhibits itself in the form of the world4 7,the dull external world1 is a counter part of the internal conception of the mind74 #f4 ,it is well known to the spiritualist1 that the egoism of ourselves and the materialism of the world1 are but dilations of the intellect2 as the currents and curlings of streams in eddies are but dilations of water4 7,this process of the ,divine spirit is called its vivarta rpa74 #g4 ,when this process of the intellect is at a stop1 the whole course of nature is at a stand still1 like the liquid water of the lake without its undulation2 or like the quiet sphere of the sky1 without the stir or agitation of winds in it4 7,it means to say that1 as the motion of the spirit causes the action of the world1 so its cessation nivarta-rpa1 put an end to the course of nature74 #h4 ,thus there is no other cause of any physical action1 in anything in any part or period of the world2 except what is derived from the agitation of the ,intellect1 without which this whole is a shapeless void and nil4 #i4 ,it is the action of the intellect1 that makes the world to appear to us at all times and places2 whether in the sky1 water or land1 as also when we wake1 sleep or dream 7and this action of the mind being put to a stop in death deep sleep1 the world ceases to exist both in the mind and to our external senses also74 #aj4 ,the action and inaction of the intellect1 is imperceptible to our understanding1 owing to the extreme tenuity of the mind1 which is more transparent than the clear sky4 #aa4 ,the knowing soul that is unified or settled as one with the ,supreme spirit1 is unconscious of its pleasure or pain and the sense of its egoism2 and being melted down into the divine essence1 it resides as the fluidity of the psychic fluid4 #ab4 ,the sapient mind is regardless of all external intelligence1 fortune1 fame1 or prosperity2 and having no desire or hope to rise or fear or shame to fall1 he sees none of these things before him1 as one sees no object of broad daylight in the gloom of night4 7,the holy man has lost sight of all worldly things74 #ac4 ,the moonlight of the intellect which issues forth from the moon like disk of the glory of ,god1 fills the universe with its ambrosial flood2 and there is no other created world1 nor its receptacles of time and space1 except the essence of ,brahma1 which fills the whole4 #ad4 ,thus the whole universe being full with the glorious essence of ,god1 it is the mind which revolves with the spheres of the worlds on itself1 like the curling circles on the surface of waters4 #ae4 ,the revolving world1 is evanescently rolling on like a running stream to its decay1 with its ever rising and sinking waves1 and its gurgling and whirling eddies and whirlpools4 #af4 ,as the moving sands appear as water 7in the mirage of the desert71 and as the distant smoke seems as a gathering clouds to the deluded2 so doth this world appear to them as a gross object of creation1 and a third thing beside the ,divine spirit and ,mind4 #ag4 ,as the wood pared by the saw appear as separate blocks1 and as the water divided by the winds has the appearance of detached waves2 so doth this creation in the ,supreme spirit1 seem to be something without and different from it4 #ah4 ,the world is as unsolid and unsubstantial1 as the stem of a plantain tree1 and as false and frail as the leaves of the arbour of our desire2 it is plastic in its nature1 but as hard as stone in the substance4 7,being like the shadow of something in the hard crystal of the ,divine ,mind74 #ai4 ,it is personified in the form of ,virt1 with his thousand heads and feet1 and as many arms1 faces and eyes2 and his body filling all sides1 with all the mountains1 rivers and countries situated in it4 #bj4 ,it is empty within and any pith in it1 it is painted in many colours and having no colour of itself4 #ba4 ,it is studded all over with bodies of gods and demigods1 gandharvas1 vidydharas and great serpents2 it is inert 7dull matter of itself71 and is moved by the all moving air of sutrtma--the all connecting spirit of ,god2 and is animated by the all enlivening anima of the ,supreme soul4 #bb4 ,as the scene of a great city appears brilliant to sight1 in a painting which is well drawn on a canvas1 so does the picture of the world1 which is displayed by imagination in the retina of the mind1 appear charming to them1 who do not deign to consider 7to examine7 it in its true light4 #bc4 ,the reflexion of the unreal and imaginary world1 which falls on the mirror of the fickle and fluctuating mind2 appears to swim upon its surface1 as a drop of oil floats over the face of water4 #bd4 ,this world is overspread with the network of the feelings imprinted in the heart1 and interspersed with winding eddies of mistake and misery2 it runs with the flood of our affections1 and with silent murmurs of sorrow4 #be4 ,the understanding is apt to attribute optionally1 the predicates ,i1 thou and so forth to the original and prime ,intellect2 but none of these is apart from the ,supreme one1 as the fluid is no other than the water itself4 7,jva--the living soul and ,brahma--the universal being synonymous terms there is no distinction whatever between them74 #bf4 ,the luminous ,intellect itself is styled the creation1 7after it has assumed to itself the title of ego or its personality72 or else there is no other creation or any creator thereof 7beside the everlasting intellect1 which is represented as the personal ,god-,ego and personified as the creation itself74 #bg4 ,as the power of impulsion is inherent in every moving substance1 like the blowing of winds and flowing of water2 so the intellectual soul1 being of a vacuous form1 knows all things in their vacuous or ideal states only4 #bh4 ,as seas and oceans are becoming the seeming cause of separate name of countries1 by separating the connection from one land to another1 though the vacuum remains ever the same2 so delusion is the cause of different ideas and dreams of material objects1 but spirit remains unchangeful forever4 #bi4 ,know the words mind1 egoism1 understanding and such other terms1 which are significant of the idea of knowledge2 to proceed from ignorance alone1 and are soon removed by proper investigation into them4 #cj4 ,it is by means of conversation with the wise1 that it is possible for us to remove one half of this ignorance1 and it is by investigation into the sstras1 that we are enabled to remove a quarter of it1 while our belief of and reliance in the ,supreme spirit1 serves to put down the remaining fourth part of it altogether4 #ca4 ,having thus divided yourself into the said four-fold duties1 and destroyed by degree the four parts of ignorance by each of them2 you will find at last a nameless something which is the true reality itself4 #cb4 ,rma said3--,i can understand sir1 how a moiety of our ignorance is removed by conversation with the wise1 as also how a fourth part of it driven by the study of sstras1 but tell me sir1 how the remainder of it is removed by our belief and reliance in the spirit4 #cc4 ,tell me sir1 what you mean by the simultaneous and gradual removal of ignorance1 and what am ,i to understand by what you call the nameless one and the true reality1 as distinguished from the unreal4 #cd4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is proper for all good and virtuous people who are dispassionate and dissatisfied with the world1 to have recourse to wise and holy men1 and argue with them regarding the course of nature1 in order to get over the ocean of this miserable world4 #ce4 ,it is proper also for intelligent persons1 to be in diligent search after the passionless and unselfish men wherever they may be found2 and particularly to find out and reverence such of them1 as are possessed with the knowledge of the soul1 and are kindly disposed to impart their spiritual knowledge to others4 #cf4 ,the acquisition of such a holy sage1 takes away one half of one's temporal and spiritual ignorance2 by setting him on the first and best step of divine knowledge4 7,the subsequent stages of yoga1 are based upon the initiatory step or stage74 #cg4 ,thus half of one's spiritual gloom being dispelled by association with the holy2 the remaining two fourths are removed1 by religious learning and one's own faith and devotion4 #ch4 ,whenever any desire of any enjoyment whatever1 is carefully suppressed in one's self by his own endeavour2 it is called his self-exertion1 which destroys one fourth of spiritual ignorance4 #ci4 ,so it is the society of the holy1 the study of ,sstras and one's own exertion1 which tend to take away one's sins1 and it is done by each of these singly or all of these conjointly1 either by degrees or at once and at the same time4 #dj4 ,whatever there remains either as something or nothing at all1 upon the total extinction of ignorance1 the same is said to be the transcendent and nameless or unspeakable something or nothing 7owing to its being beyond all conception74 #da4 ,this is verily the real ,brahma1 the undestroyed1 infinite and eternal one2 and which being but a manifestation of the unsubstantial will1 is understood as an inexistent blank likewise4 ,by knowing the measureless1 immeasurable and unerring being1 do you rely in your own nihility of nirvna1 and be free from all fear and sorrow4 7,he who thinks himself as nothing1 has no care or fear for anything74 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,anecdote ,,of ,,indra1 ,,and ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,atomic ,,world4 ,argument3--,the acts of ,delusion1 and ,deception of senses1 and ,indra's ,vision of the ,world in an ,atom4 ,bhusunda ,said3--,the universe which contains the totality of existence1 and appears as a wide extended sphere2 is not in need of any pre-existent place or time as recipients of its substance just as the etherial light 7of the twilight71 requires no prop or pillar in the heavens for its support4 7,the simultaneity of the seeming containers--time and space1 and their apparent contents--the wide world and the broad light1 disproves the priority of the receptacles with regard to their occupants1 as it is commonly understood to be4 ,so the verse3--,here there is no container or contained1 nothing first or last2 ,but all is one that fills and contains this all4 ,gloss74 #b4 ,the fabrication of this triple world 7containing the celestial1 terrestrial and infernal regions71 is the mere thought or working of the mind2 and all this is more quiet and calm1 more minute and light1 and much more translucent than the odor residing in the air4 #c4 ,the world is a wondrous phenomenon of the intellect1 which though it is as minute as a particle of fragrance borne by the wind2 appears yet as big as a mountain to the sensation of the outward organs of sense4 7,this is the effect of the deception of the senses74 #d4 ,every one 7animal being7 views and thinks the world1 in the same form and light as it presents unto him2 just as the operations of the mind and visions in a dream1 appear as they occur to their recipients and to no other besides4 7,the deceptive senses and dreams1 depict objects in different aspects to different persons74 #e4 ,here ,i will instance an old legend1 of what happened to ,indra--the lord of ,gods1 when he was confined in a minute particle in times of yore4 #f4 ,it came to pass once upon a time1 that this world grew up as a small fig fruit on a branch of the ,yuga tree1 in the great arbour of a kalpa age4 7,the periods of a ,yuga and kalpa are represented as a tree and forest by metaphor74 #g4 ,the mundane fruit was composed of the three compartments of the earth1 sky and infernal regions1 containing the gods and demigods of heaven1 the hills and living creatures on earth1 the marshy lands below1 with troops of gnats and flies 7fluttering about the fig tree of the world1 and representing the diseases and dangers that hover over it74 #h4 ,it is a wondrous production of the intellect 7which is its architect72 and is as high as handsome full-blown buds with the juice of desire 7i4e4 it is full of all delights1 that the heart can desire74 ,it is odorous with all kinds of flavourous fragrances1 that we can feel and tempting to the mind by the variety of its savours that are sweet to taste4 7,does it allude to the forbidden fruit which was enticing to sight and sweet to taste1 and meant the world itself that was to be avoided78 #i4 ,this tree grew upon the ,brahma tree 7otherwise called the udumvara or fig tree71 which was over hung by millions of creepers and orchids2 egoism is the stalk of the fruit1 which appeared beautiful to sight4 #aj4 ,it is encompassed around with oceans1 seas and arteries1 and whose face-light is the principal door4 ,it is salvating the starry heaven above and the moist earth below4 #aa4 ,it is ripened at the end of the ,kalpa age1 when it becomes the food of black crows and cuckoos 7messengers of darksome death72 or if it falls below there is an end of it1 by its absorption in the indifferent ,brahma4 #ab4 ,there lived at one time the lord of ,gods--the great ,indra in that fruit1 just as a big mosquito resides in an empty pot in company with the small gnats as their great leader4 #ac4 ,but this great lord was weakened in his strength and valour by his study of and the lectures of his preceptor on spiritualism2 which made him a spiritualist1 and seer in all past and future matters4 #ad4 ,it happened once on a time1 when the valiant god ,nryana and his heavenly host1 had been reposing in their rest2 and their leader ,indra was so debilitated in his arms2 that the demigods rose in open rebellion against ,god4 #ae4 ,then ,indra rose with his flashing arms and fire1 and fought with the fighting ,asuras for a long time2 but being at last defeated by the superior strength1 he fled away in haste from the field4 #af4 ,he ran in all the ten directions1 and was pursued by the enemy wherever he fled2 he could get no place of rest1 as a sinner has no resting place in the next world 7but continues to rove about in never ending transmigrations of his soul74 #ag4 ,then as the enemy lost sight of him for a moment1 he availed to himself of that opportunity2 he compressed the thought of his big body in his mind1 and became of a minute form on the out-side of himself4 7,it is the inner thought that moulds the outer body1 according to the inner type74 #ah4 ,he then entered into the womb of an atom1 which was glittering amidst the expanse of solar rays2 as a bee enters into the cup or seed vessel of a lotus bud1 by means of the consciousness of his personal minuteness4 #ai4 ,he had his instant rest in that state1 and then his hope of final bliss in the next2 by utter forgetfulness of the warfare1 and attainment of the ultimate beatitude of the nirvna torpitude in the end4 7,all action is warfare1 and cessation from it gives peace and rest74 #bj4 ,he instantly conceived in his imagination1 his royal palace in that lotus1 and he sat upon his lotiform seat 7padmsana7 within it1 as if he was resting on his own bed4 #ba4 ,then ,indra otherwise called ,hari1 being seated in that mansion1 saw an imaginary city in it1 containing a grand edifice in the midst2 with its walls studded with gems1 pearls and corals4 #bb4 ,hari 7the ,indra7 beheld from within the city1 a large country extending about it1 and containing many hills and villages1 pasture grounds for kine1 forests and human habitations4 #bc4 ,indra then felt the desire of enjoying that country1 with all the lands and hills1 the seas to their utmost boundaries1 as he had formed in his imagination4 #bd4 ,shakra 7,indra7 afterwards conceived the desire1 of possessing the three worlds to himself1 together with all the earth and ocean1 sky and the infernal regions1 the heavens1 planetary spheres above and the ranges of mountains below4 #be4 ,thus did ,indra remain there as the lord of gods1 and in possession of all abundance for his enjoyments2 and there was born to him afterwards1 a son named ,kunda of great strength and valour4 #bf4 ,then at the end of his life time1 this ,indra of unblemished reputation1 forsook his mortal frame1 and became extinct in his nirvna dissolution1 as when a lamp is extinguished for want of oil4 #bg4 ,kunda reigned over the three worlds 7of and like his father71 and then having given birth to a boy he departed to his ultimate state of bliss1 after expiration of the term of his life4 #bh4 ,that son also reigned in his time 7like the sire71 and then departed at the end of his life time1 to the holy state of supreme felicity1 by leaving a son after him4 #bi4 ,in this manner a thousand generations of the grandsons of the first ,indra1 have reigned and passed away in their time2 and there is still a prince by name of ,ansaka1 reigning over the state of the lord of gods4 #cj4 ,thus the generations of the lord of immortals1 still hold their sovereignty over the imaginary world of ,indra2 in that sacred particle of sunbeam in empty air1 although that atomic particle is continually going to decay and waste in this long course of time 7yet the imagination of its existence has laid a firm hold on the minds of their posterity for ever74 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,story ,,of ,,indr,n2 ,,and ,,establishment ,,of ,,the ,,identity ,,of ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,creation ,,and ,,imagination4 ,argument3--,origin of ,sakra race and of the ,world like the fibres of ,lotus-stalks and its spiritual sense4 ,bhusunda continued3--,there was one prince born of the race of that ,indra2 who had also become the lord of gods2 ,he was endowed with prosperity and all good qualities1 and devoted to divine knowledge4 #b4 ,this prince of ,indra's race1 received his divine knowledge from the oral instruction of ,vrihaspati 7the preceptor of the gods74 #c4 ,he knowing the knowable-one1 persisted in the course of knowledge as he was taught and being the sovereign lord of gods1 he reigned over all the three worlds4 #d4 ,he fought against the demigods1 and conquered all his foes2 he made a hundred sacrifices1 and got over the darkness of ignorance by his enlightened mind4 #e4 ,he remained long in meditation1 having his mind fixed in his cerebral artery1 resembling the thread of a tubular stalk of the lotus1 and continued to reflect on hundreds of many others matters4 7i4e4 ,on the imaginary world and its kingdom and conquests together with many other things74 #f4 ,he had once the desire of knowing by the power of his understanding1 how he could see the essence of ,brahma in his meditation 7or how he could have a sight of the nature of ,god1 manifest before him4 ,gloss74 #g4 ,he sat in his solitary retirement1 and saw in this silent meditation of his tranquil mind1 the disappearance of the concatenation of causes all about and inside himself4 #h4 ,he beheld the omnipotent ,brahma1 as extended in and about all things2 and presenting all times and places and existing as all in all1 and pervading all things in all places4 #i4 ,his hands stretch to all sides1 and his feet reach to the ends of the worlds2 his face and eyes are on all sides1 and his head pierces the spheres2 his ears are set in all places1 and he endures by encompassing all things every where4 #aj4 ,he is devoid of all the organs of sense1 and yet possest of the powers of all senses in himself2 he is the support of all1 and being destitute of qualities1 is the source and receptacle of all quality4 7,the qualities of finite bodies are of a finite nature1 but the infinite are infinite1 eternal and immutable74 #aa4 ,unmoved and unmoving by himself1 he is moving in and out of all things1 as well as moveth them all both internally and externally 7that is to say1 ,he is the moving force of dull matter74 ,he is unknowable owing to his minuteness1 and appears to be at a distance1 though he is so near us4 #ab4 ,he is as the one sun and moon in the whole universe1 and the same land in all the earth2 ,he is the one universal ocean on the globe1 and one ,meru ,mountain 7of the sun's path7 all about4 #ac4 ,he is the pith and gravity of all objects1 and he is the one vacuum every where2 he is the wide world and the great cosmos1 that is common to all4 #ad4 ,he is the liberated soul of all1 and the primary intellect in every place2 he is every object everywhere1 and beside all things in all places4 #ae4 ,he is in all pots and huts1 in all trees and their coatings2 he moves the carts and carriages1 and enlivens alike all men and other animals likewise4 #af4 ,he is in all the various customs and manners of men1 and in all the many modes of their thinking2 he resides equally in the parts of an atom1 as also in the stupendous frame of the triple world4 #ag4 ,he resides as pungency in the heart of pepper1 as vacuity in the sky2 and in his intellectual soul the three worlds1 whether they are real entities or mere unrealities4 #ah4 ,indra beheld the lord in this manner1 and then being liberated from his animal state by the help of his pure understanding2 he remained all along in the same state of his meditation as before4 #ai4 ,the magnanimous god sees in his revery1 all things united in his meditative mind2 and beheld this creation in the same light as it appears to us 7as a real entity74 #bj4 ,he then wandered in his mind all over this creation1 and believing himself as the lord of all he saw in it1 became the very god ,indra2 and reigned over the three worlds and their manifold pageantries4 #ba4 ,know1 ,o chief of the race of vidydharas1 that the same ,indra who was descended of the family of ,indras1 has been still holding his reign as the lord of gods to this day4 #bb4 ,he then perceived in his mind1 by virtue of his former habit of thinking1 the seed of his remembrance sprouting forth with the lotus stalk1 wherein he thought to have lain before4 #bc4 ,as ,i have related to you of the reign of the former ,indra1 in the bosom of an atom in the sunbeam2 and of the residence of his last generation--the latter ,indra1 in the hollow fibre of the lotus stalk4 #bd4 ,so have thousands of other ,indras gone by1 and are going on still in their fancied realm in the empty sky1 in the same manner and mode as observed by their predecessors4 #be4 ,so runs the course of nature in ceaseless succession1 like the current of a river running onward to the sea2 and so do men whether acquainted or not with the divine knowledge1 flow on as streams to the abyss of eternity 7which is tatpada or state of the ,deity74 #bf4 ,such is lengthening delusion of the world appearing as true2 but vanishing to nothing at the appearance of the light of truth 7which is the sight of ,god in everything74 #bg4 ,from whatever cause1 and in whatever place or time1 and in whatever manner this delusion is seen to have sprung1 it is made to disappear by knowledge of the same4 #bh4 ,it is egoism alone1 which produces the wonderful appearance of delusion2 as the cloud in the sky causes the rain2 it spreads itself as a mist1 but disappears immediately at the sight of light4 #bi4 ,he who has got rid of his belief of the looking and sight of the world 7i4e4 ,of both the subjective and objective1 as well as of his action and passion72 and has attained the knowledge of self-reflecting soul2 and who has placed his belief in one vacuous form of empty air2 which is devoid of all properties and beyond all categories1 is freed from all option and settled in the only ,one4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,final ,,extinction ,,of ,,the ,,vidy,,dhara4 ,argument4--,description of ,egoism as the productive seed of the world1 and its extinction as the cause of emancipation from it4 ,bhusunda resumed and said3--,wherever there is the thought of egoism of any one1 the idea of the world will be found to be inherent in it2 as it appeared to ,indra within the bosom of the atomic particle4 #b4 ,the error of the world 7the false conception of its reality71 which covers the mind1 as the green verdure of grass overspreads the face of the ground2 has for its origin the idea of one's egoism1 which takes its root in the human soul4 #c4 ,this minute seed of egoism1 being moistened with the water of desire1 produces the arbor of the three worlds1 on the height of ,brahma in the great forest of vacuum4 #d4 ,the stars are the flowers of this tree1 hang on high on the branches of the mountain craigs2 the rivers resemble its veins and fibres1 flowing with the juicy pith of their waters1 and the objects of desire are the fruits of this tree4 7,the objects of desire are the enjoyments and fruition of life74 #e4 ,the revolving worlds1 are the fluctuating waves of the water of egoism2 and the profluent current of desire1 continually supplies with varieties of exquisite symposiums1 sweet to the taste of the intellect4 7i4e4 ,the pleasures of desire are sweet to the mind1 and afford intellectual delight74 #f4 ,the sky is the boundless ocean full of etherial waters1 and teeming with showering drops of star light in it2 plenty and poverty are the two whirlpools in the ocean of the earth1 and all our woes are the mountainous waves on its surface4 7i4e4 ,the heaven and earth are the two oceans above and below2 the one shining with starry light1 and the other gliding with waves of woe4 ,so says the ,bible3--,and ,god made the firmament1 to divide the waters above from the waters below4 ,genesis ,i74 #g4 ,the three worlds are presented as a picture of the ocean1 with the upper lights as its froths and foams swimming upon it2 the spheres are floating as bubbles upon it1 and their belts are as the thick valves of their doors4 #h4 ,the surface of the earth is as a hard and solid rock1 and the intellect moves as a black crow upon it2 and the hurry and bustle of its people1 are conformable with the incessant rotation of the globe4 #i4 ,the infirmities and errors1 old age and death1 are as billows gliding on the surface of the sea2 and the rising and falling of bodies in it1 are as the swelling and dissolving of bubbles in water4 #aj4 ,know the world to be a gust of the breath of your egoism1 and know it also as a sweet scent proceeding from the lotus like flower of egoism4 #aa4 ,know the knowledge of your egoism and that of the objective world1 are not two different things2 but they are the one and same thing2 as the wind and its breath1 the water and its fluidity1 and the fire and its heat4 #ab4 ,the world is included under the sense of ego1 and the ego is contained in the heart of the world2 and these being productive of one another1 are reciprocally the container and contained of each other4 #ac4 ,he who effaces the seed of his egoism from his understanding1 by means of his ignoring it altogether2 has verily washed off the picture of the world from his mind1 by the water of ignorance of it4 #ad4 ,know ,vidydhara1 there is no such thing as is implied by ego2 it is a causeless nothing as the horn of a hare4 #ae4 ,there is no egoism in the all pervading and infinite ,brahma1 who is devoid of all desire2 and therefore there being no cause nor ground of it1 it is never anything in reality4 #af4 ,whatever is nothing in reality1 could not possibly have any cause in the beginning of creation2 therefore egoism is a nihility1 as the son of a barren woman is a nullity in nature4 #ag4 ,the want of egoism on the one hand1 proves the privation of the world also on the other2 thus there remains the ,intellect or the one mind alone1 in which everything is extinct4 #ah4 ,from the proof of the absence of ego and the world1 the operations of the mind and the sight of visibles1 all come to an end1 and there remains nothing for thee to care for or fear4 #ai4 ,whatever is not is a naught altogether1 and the rest are as calm and quiet as nil in existence2 knowing this as certain be enlightened1 and fall no more to the false error which has no root in nature4 #bj4 ,being purged from the stain of fancy1 you become as purified and sanctified as the holy lord ,siva for ever1 and then the sky will seem to thee as a huge mountain1 and the vast world will dwindle to an atom4 7,this is done by two powers of adhyropa and vyapadesa or expansion or contraction in yoga74 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,extinction ,,of ,,vidy,,dhara 7,,continued74 ,argument3--,entrancement of the ,vidydhara at the end of the ,discourse in favour of ,non-egoism4 ,bhusunda continued3--,as ,i was lecturing in this manner1 the chief of the vidydharas became dull in the consciousness 7i4e4 unconscious of himself71 and fell into the trance of samdhi--anaesthesia4 #b4 ,and notwithstanding my repeated attempts1 to awaken him from that state 7of insensibility72 he did not open his eyes to the sight lying before him1 but was wholly absorbed in his nirvna-extinction4 #c4 ,he attained the supreme and ultimate state1 and became enlightened in his soul 7by what ,i had instructed him72 and made no other further attempt to know what he sought4 7,the attempts to know ,god1 besides sravana or attending to the lectures of the guru1 are reflection1 meditation etc474 #d4 7,here ,vasishtha said to ,rma37 ,it is therefore1 ,rma1 that ,i related this narrative to exemplify the effect of instruction in pure hearts1 where it floats like a drop of oil on the surface of water 7i4e4 where it does not sink down nor is lost74 #e4 ,this instruction consists in forgetting the existence of the ego in the ,supreme spirit1 this is the best advice and there is no other like this2 and this is calculated to give peace and comfort to your soul4 #f4 ,but when this advice falls in the soil of evil minds1 it is choked up and lost in the end2 as the purest pearl falls from the surface of a smooth mirror 7or piece of glass74 #g4 ,but good advice sticks fast in the calm minds of the virtuous1 and it enters into their reasoning souls2 as the sunlight enters and shines in the sunstone4 #h4 ,egoism is verily the seed of all worldly misery1 as the seed of the thorny simul tree grows only prickles on earth2 so is meity or the thought that this is mine1 the out stretching branch of this tree4 #i4 ,first the seed ego1 and then its branch of meity or mineness1 produce the endless leaves of our desires2 and their sense of selfishness1 is productive of the burthensome fruits of our woe and misery4 #aj4 ,then the vidydhara said2 ,i understand1 ,o chief of sages1 that it is in this manner1 that dull people also become long living in this world2 and it is this true knowledge1 which is the cause of the great longevity of yours and other sages4 #aa4 ,those who are pure in their hearts and minds1 soon attain to their highest state of fearlessness1 after they are once admonished with the knowledge of truth4 #ab4 ,vasishtha said3--,the chief of the birds of air1 spoke to me in this manner on the summit of the ,sumeru ,mountain2 and then held his silence like the mute clouds on the top of ,rishyasringa chain4 7,it is said that the clouds never roar when they rove over this hill74 #ac4 ,having taken leave of the sagely bird1 ,i repaired to the abode of the ,vidydhara 7in order to learn the truth of the story72 and then returned to my place1 which was graced by the assemblage of sages4 #ad4 ,i have thus related to you1 ,o ,rma1 the narration of the veteran bird1 and the sedateness which was attained by the ,vidydhara with little pain and knowledge4 ,it is now the lapse of the long period of eleven great ,yugas1 since my said interview with ,bhusunda--the veteran chief of the feathered tribe4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,lecture ,,on ,,the ,,annihilation ,,of ,,egoism4 ,argument3--,the ,yoga or mode of consuming egoism by the fire of ,non-egoism4 ,vasishtha said3--,it is by means of the knowledge of one's want of egoism1 that the arbor of his desire1 which is productive of the fruit of worldliness1 and which is fraught with the taste of all kinds of sweet and bitterness2 may be checked in its growth4 #b4 ,it is by one's habit of thinking his unegoism1 that he comes to view both gold and stone1 as well as all sorts of rubbish in the same light2 and by being calm and quiet at all events1 has never any cause of sorrow at any thing whatsoever4 #c4 ,when the cannon-ball of egoism1 is let to fly out from the gun of the mind by force of divine knowledge2 we are at a loss to know1 where the stone of egoism takes its flight4 #d4 ,the stone of egoism being flung from the balustrade of the body1 by the gigantic force of spiritual knowledge2 we know not where this ponderous egoism is driven and lost4 #e4 ,after the stone of egoism is flung away1 by the great force of the knowledge of ,brahma only2 we cannot say where this engine of the body 7with its boast of egoism in it71 is lost forever4 7,here are three comparisons of egoism1 viz1 #a of a gunshot2 #b of a balustrade stone2 #c of a pebble in a sling74 #f4 ,the meaning of ego is frost in the heart of man1 and melts away under the sunshine of unegoism2 it then flies off in vapour1 and then disappears into nothing we know not where4 #g4 ,the ego is the juice of the inner part of the body1 and the unego is the solar heat without2 the former is sucked up by the latter1 and forsakes the dried body like a withered leaf1 and then flies off where we know not4 #h4 ,the moisture of egoism1 being sucked up from the leafy body of the living1 flies by the process of its suction by the solar heat1 to the unknown region of endless vacuum4 #i4 ,whether a man sleeps in his bed or sits on the ground1 whether he remains at home or roves on rocks1 whether he wanders over the land or water1 wherever he sits or sleeps or is awake or not3-- #aj4 ,this formless egoism abides in it1 either as gross matter or the subtile spirit1 or in some state or other2 which though it is afar from it1 seems to be united with it4 7,the true ego of the far distant ,divine spirit1 seems to be incorporated with the material body74 #aa4 ,egoism is seated as the minute seed1 in the heart of the fig tree of the body2 where it sprouts forth and stretches its branches1 composing the different parts of the world4 7i4e4 ,the seed of egoism develops itself in the form of the creation1 which is a creature of its own74 #ab4 ,again the big tree of the body1 is contained within the minute seed of egoism2 which bursts out in the branches forming the several parts of the universe4 #ac4 ,as the small seed is seen by every one1 to contain within it a large tree1 which develops itself into a hundred branches1 bearing all their leaves1 flowers and abundance of fruits2 so doth the big body reside with the atomic seed of egoism1 with all its endless parts of corporeal organs and mental faculties1 which are discernible to the sight of the intelligent4 #ad4 ,egoism is not to be had in the body by reasoning1 which points out the mind of everybody1 to seek it in the sphere of the vacuous ,intellect2 the seed of egoism does not spring from the bosom of unreality1 and the blunder of the reality of the world1 is destroyed by the fire proceeding from the spirituality of the wise4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,universal ,,sphere4 ,argument3--,how material world is framed by intellect1 its formation and destruction1 one by reminiscence and the other by forgetfulness4 ,vasishtha related3--,there is never and nowhere an absolute death or total dissolution of the body together with the mind1 soul and egoism2 but it is the cessation of the inward imagery of the mind1 that is called its quietus4 #b4 ,look at these sights of the ,meru and ,mandara ,mountains1 which are born before thy presence2 they are not carried to and fro to every body1 but are reflected in the minds of all like the flying clouds of autumn in the water of a river4 #c4 ,these creations are placed over and above and below and under one another1 like the coatings of a plantain tree2 and they are either in contact with or detached from one another like clouds in the sky4 #d4 ,rma said3--,sir1 ,i do not fully comprehend the sound sense of what you say by the words 8,look at these flying sights0 and therefore ,i beg to you to explain this clearly unto me4 #e4 ,vasishtha replied3--,know ,rma1 that the life contains the mind1 and the mind is the container of the worlds within it2 as there are various kinds of trees and their several parts1 contained in the bosom of a small berry4 7,and this is meant by one thing being contained within another74 #f4 ,after a man is dead1 his vital airs fly to and unite with the etherial air2 as the liquid water of streams flows to and mixes with the main ocean4 7,this is by attraction of things of the same kind74 #g4 ,the winds of heaven then disperse on all sides1 his vital airs together with the imaginary worlds of his life time1 which subsisted in the particles of his vital breath4 #h4 ,i see the winds of heaven1 bearing away the vital airs1 together with their contents of the imaginary worlds2 and filling the whole space of air with vital breath on all sides4 #i4 ,i see the ,meru and ,mandara ,mountains1 wafted with the imaginary worlds before me2 and you also will observe the same1 before the sight of your understanding4 7,the whole vacuum teeming with life74 #aj4 ,the etherial airs are full with the vital airs of the dead1 which contain the minute particles of mind in them2 and these minds again contain the types of the worlds in them1 just as the sesame seeds contain the oil in them4 #aa4 ,as the etherial airs bear the vital airs1 which are of the same kind with them 7both being airy substances72 so are the vital breaths accompanied with particles of the mind 7which is equally an airy substance also71 these again bear the pictures of the worlds in them1 as if they are ingrafted upon them4 #ab4 ,the same vacuum contains the whole creation and the three worlds with the earth and ocean1 all which are borne in it1 as the different odors are borne by the winds4 #ac4 ,all these are seen in the sight of the understanding1 and not by the vision of the visual organs2 they are the portraiture of our imagination1 like the fairy lands we see in our dreams before us4 #ad4 ,there are many other things1 more subtile than the visible atmosphere1 and which owing to their existence in our desire or fancy only1 are not borne upon the wings of the winds as the former ones4 7,though it is said in ordinary speech1 that our desires and fancies are borne by our internal humour of vyu or wind74 #ae4 ,but there are some certain truths1 which are derived from the intellect1 and are called intellectual principles1 which have the power to cause our pleasure and pain1 and lead us to heaven or hell3 7,such as virtue and vice74 7,these are the immutable principles of right and wrong1 abiding in and proceeding from the intellect74 #af4 ,again our desires are as the shadows of cities1 floating on the stream of life2 and though the current of life is continually gliding away1 yet the shadowy desires whether successful or not1 ever remain the same4 7,lit4 are never carried away by the current74 #ag4 ,the vital breath carries its burden of the world1 along with its course to the stillness of endless vacuity2 as the breezes bear away the fragrance of flowers1 to the dreary desert where they are lost for ever4 #ah4 ,though the mind is ever fickle1 changeable and forgetful in its nature2 yet it never loses the false idea of the world which is inherent in it1 as a pot removed to any place and placed in any state1 never gets rid of its inner vacuity4 7,the idea of the world is carried by reminiscence1 in every state and stage of the changeful mind74 #ai4 ,so when the fallacy of the false world has taken possession of the deluded mind1 it is alike impossible either to realize or set it at naught1 like the form of the formless ,brahma4 #bj4 ,or if this world is a revolving body1 carried about by the force of the winds2 yet we have no knowledge of its motion1 as when sitting quiet in a boat1 though carried afar to the distance of miles by the tide and winds4 #ba4 ,as men sitting in a boat1 have no knowledge of the force which carries the boat forward2 so we earthly beings have no idea of the power that is attached to it in its rotatory motion4 #bb4 ,as a wide extending city1 is represented in miniature in a painting at the foot of a column2 so is this world contained in the bosom of the minute atom of the mind4 #bc4 ,a thing however little or insignificant1 is taken to be too much and of great importance1 by the low and mean2 as a handful of paddy is of great value to the little mouse than gems1 and a particle of mud to the contemptible frog1 than the pearls under the water4 7,so a particle of the mind is enough for the whole world74 #bd4 ,again a trifle is taken as too much1 by those who are ignorant of its insignificance2 as the learned in the error of their judgement1 mistake this visionary world as preparatory to their future happiness or misery4 7,the world being nothing in reality1 cannot lead to anything1 to real good or evil74 #be4 ,the inward belief of something as real good1 and of another as positive evil1 is a mistake common to the majority of mankind1 and to which the learned also are liable1 in their conduct in this world4 7,the wise man is indifferent to every thing1 and neither likes nor takes the one1 nor hates or rejects the other74 #bf4 ,as the intelligent and embodied soul1 is conscious of every part of the body in which it is confined2 so the enlightened living soul--jva1 beholds all the three worlds displayed within itself 7as in the ,god ,virt74 #bg4 ,the unborn and ever lasting ,god1 who is of the form of conscious soul1 extending over the infinity of space1 has all these worlds1 as parts of his all pervading vacuous body4 #bh4 ,the intelligent and ever living soul 7of ,god7 sees the uncreated worlds deeply impressed in itself2 as a rod of iron 7were it endowed with intelligence71 would see the future knives and needles in itself4 #bi4 ,as a clod of earth1 whether endowed with intelligence or not knows the seed which is hidden in it1 and which it grows to vegetation afterwards2 so doth the ever living soul know the world which is contained in it4 #cj4 ,as the sensitive or insensitive seed1 knows the germ1 plant and tree1 which it contains within its bosom2 so doth the spirit of ,god1 perceive the great arbor of the world conceived in its profoundest womb4 #ca4 ,as the man having his sight1 sees the image of something reflected in a mirror1 which the blind man does not2 so the wise man sees the world in ,brahma1 which the ignorant does not perceive 7but think the world as distinct from him74 #cb4 ,the world is nothing except the union of the four categories of time1 space1 action and substance2 and egoism being no way distinct from the predicates of the world1 subsists in ,god who contains the whole in ,himself4 7,god is not predicable by any particular predicate2 but is the congeries of all the predicates taken collectively in his nature74 #cc4 ,whatever lesson is inculcated to any body by means of a parable1 i4e4 whatever thing is signified to some one by a comparison1 know that the simile relates to some particular property of the compared object and not in all respects4 7,so the similitude of iron rod given to god in the sruti and this book1 regards only its material causality1 and not its insensibility with the sensible spirit of ,god74 #cd4 ,whatever is seen to be moving or unmoving here in this world2 is the vivarta or expanded body of the living soul1 without any alteration in its atomic minuteness4 7,nature is the body1 and ,god the soul4 ,pope74 #ce4 ,leaving the intelligence aside 7which is wanting in created objects72 and taking the force only 7which actuates all nature72 we find no difference of this physical force from the giver of the force4 #cf4 ,again whatever alteration1 is produced in the motion or option of anything or person1 at any time or place or in any manner2 is all the act of that ,divine ,intellect4 #cg4 ,it is the intellect which infuses in the mind the power of its option1 volition1 imagination and the like2 because none of these can spring as a sprout in the mind1 which is without intelligence and without an intelligent cause of it4 #ch4 ,whatever desires and fancies1 rise in the minds of the unenlightened2 are not of the nature of the positive will or decree of the ,divine ,mind1 owing to the endless variety and mutuality of human wishes4 #ci4 ,the desires rising in the minds of the enlightened1 are as they were no desires and never had their rise2 because-- #dj4 ,all thoughts and desires being groundless1 they are as false as the idle wishes of boys2 for who has ever obtained the objects of his dream8 7or that he has beheld in his dream78 #da4 ,sankalpa with its triple sense of thought1 desire and imagination1 is impressed by the intellect on the living soul 7which is the image of ,god7 from its past reminiscence2 and though we have a notion of this ideal soul1 yet it is as untrue and unsubstantial as a shadow2 but not so the original ,intellect1 which is both real and substantial4 #db4 ,he who is freed from the error of taking the unreal world for real1 becomes as free as the god ,siva himself2 and having got rid of the corporeal body1 becomes manifest in his spiritual form4 #dc4 ,the imagination of the ignorant1 whirls about the worlds1 as the wind hurls the flying cotton in the air2 but they appear to be as unmoved as stones to the wise1 who are not led away by their imagination4 #dd4 ,so there are multitudes of worlds1 amidst many other things in the vast womb of vacuum which nobody can count2 some of which are united with one another in groups1 and others that have no connection with another4 #de4 ,the supreme intellect being all in all1 manifests itself in endless forms and actions1 filling the vast space of infinity1 some of which are as transient as rain drops or bubbles in air and water1 which quickly burst out and disappear2 and others appearing as the great cities 7of gods c471 situated in the heart of the ,infinite one4 #df4 ,some of these are as durable as rocks1 and others are continually breaking and wearing out2 some appearing as bright as with their open eyes1 and others as dark as with their closed eyelids2 some of these are luminous to sight and others obscured under impenetrable darkness2 thus the bosom of the intellect resembling the vast expanse of the ocean1 is rolling on with the waves of creation to all eternity4 #dg4 ,some though set apart are continually tending towards another2 as the waters of distant rivers are running to mix with those of seas and ocean2 and as the luminous bodies of heaven1 appearing together to brighten its sphere4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,form ,,of ,,vir,t ,,or ,,the ,,all ,,comprehending ,,deity4 ,argument3--,the ,essence of the ,living soul1 and of the undivided and ,individual bodies2 and ,distinction of things with regard to their distinct natures and actions4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 regarding the nature of the living soul1 and the manner of its assuming its different forms2 and tell me also its original form1 and those which it takes at different times and places4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the infinite intelligence of ,god1 which fills all space and vacuum2 takes of its own will a subtile and minute form1 which is intelligible under the name of ,intellect2 and it is this which is expressed by the term living soul--jva or zoa4 #c4 ,its original form is neither that of a minute atom1 nor a bulky mass2 not an empty vacuity1 nor anything having its solidity4 ,it is the pure intellect with consciousness of itself1 it is omnipresent and is called the living soul4 7,it is neither the empty space1 nor anything contained therein74 #d4 ,it is the minutest of the minute1 and the hugest of the huge2 it is nothing at all1 and yet the all1 which the learned designate as the living soul4 7,the preceding one is a negative proposition1 and this an affirmative one74 #e4 ,know it as identic with the nature1 property and quality1 of any object whatever that exists any where2 ,it is the light and soul of all existence1 and selfsame with all1 by its engrossing the knowledge of everything in itself4 7,because nothing is existent in reality but in its idea1 and the soul having all ideas in itself1 is identic with all of them74 #f4 ,whatever this soul thinks in any manner1 of anything at any place or time1 it immediately becomes the same by its notion thereof4 7i4e4 ,being full with the idea of a thing1 it is said to be identified with the same74 7,the collective soul becomes all whatever it thinks or wills1 as the soul of ,god2 but the individual soul thinks as it becomes at any place or time--as the soul of man or any particular being4 ,gloss74 #g4 ,the soul possesses the power of thinking1 as the air has its force in the winds2 but its thoughts are directed by the knowledge of things 7that it derives by means of the senses72 and not by the guidance of anyone1 as the appearance of ghosts to boys4 #h4 ,as the existent air appears to be inexistent1 without the motion of the wind2 so the living soul desisting from its function of thinking1 is said to be extinct in the ,supreme ,deity4 #i4 ,the living soul is misled to think of its individuality as the ego1 by the density or dullness of its intellect2 and supposes itself to be confined within a limited space of place and time1 and with limited powers of action and understanding4 7,thus the infinite soul mistakes itself for a finite being1 by the dulness of its understanding74 #aj4 ,being thus circumscribed by time and space1 and endowed with substance and properties of action c41 it assumes to itself an unreal form or body1 with the belief of its being or sober reality4 7,thus the incorporeal soul1 is incorporated in a corporeal frame74 #aa4 ,it then thinks itself to be enclosed in an ideal atom2 as one sees himself in his dream to be involved in his unreal death4 #ab4 ,and as one finds in its mind his features and the members of his body1 to another form in his dream2 so the soul forgets her intellectual entity in her state of ignorance1 and becomes of the same nature and form1 as she constantly thinks upon4 7,it forgets its pure spiritual form1 and becomes a dull material body of some kind74 #ac4 ,thinking itself to be thus transformed to a gross and material form1 as that of ,virt the macrocosm 7who combines the whole material universe in himself72 it views itself as bright and spotted1 as the disk of the moon with the black spot upon it4 #ad4 ,it then finds in its person resembling the lunar disk1 the sudden union of the five senses of perception1 appearing in him of themselves4 #ae4 ,these five senses are then found to have the five organs of sensation for their inlets1 by which the soul perceives the sensation of their respective objects4 #af4 ,then the ,purusha or first male power known as ,virt1 manifests himself in five other forms said to be the members of his person2 and these are the sun1 the sides1 water1 air1 and the land1 which are the objects of five senses said before4 ,he then becomes of endless forms according to the infinity of objects of his knowledge3 7i4e4 the thoughts in this mind74 ,he is thus manifested in his objective forms1 but is quite unknown to us in his subjective or causal form1 which is unchangeable and undecaying4 #ag4 ,he sprang up at first from the supreme being1 as its mental energy or the mind2 and was manifest in the form of the calm and clear firmament1 with the splendour of eternal delight4 #ah4 ,he was not of the five elemental forms1 but was the soul of the five elements1 he is called the ,virt ,purusha--the macrocosm of the world1 and the supreme lord of all4 7,he was the collective body of all individual ones74 #ai4 ,he rises spontaneously of himself1 and then subsides in himself2 he expands his own essence all over the universe1 and at last contracts the whole in himself4 #bj4 ,he rose in a moment with his power of volition1 and with all his desires in himself2 he rises of his own will at first1 and after lasting long in himself1 dissolves again in himself4 #ba4 ,he is the selfsame one with the mind of ,god1 and he is the great body of the material world2 and his body is called the puryashtaka or container of the eight elementary principles1 as also the tivhika or of the spiritual form4 #bb4 ,he is as the subtile and gross air1 manifest as the sky1 but invisible as the subtile ether2 he is both within and as well as without everything1 and is yet nothing in himself4 #bc4 ,his body consists of eight members1 viz--the five senses1 the mind1 the living principle and egoism1 together with the different states of their being and not being1 i4e41 of their visible and invisible form 7such as outward and inward organs of perception c474 #bd4 ,he 7in the form of ,brahm71 sang at first the four vedas with his four mouths2 he determined the significations of words1 and it was he who established the rules of conduct1 which are in vogue to this time4 #be4 ,the high and boundless heaven1 is the crown of his head2 and the lower earth is the footstool of his feet2 the unbounded sky is his capacious belly1 and the whole universe is the temple over his body4 #bf4 ,the multitudes of worlds all about1 are the members of his body on all sides2 the waters of seas are the blood of the scars upon his body2 the mountains are his muscles1 and the rivers and streams are the veins and arteries of his body4 #bg4 ,the seas are his blood vessels1 and the islands are the ligatures round his persons2 his arms are the sides of the sky1 and the stars are the hairs on his body4 #bh4 ,the forty-nine winds are its vital airs1 the orb of the sun is its eye-ball1 while its heat is the fiery bile inside its belly4 #bi4 ,the lunar orb is the sheath of his life1 and its cooling beams are the humid humours of his body2 his mind is the receptacle of his desires1 and the pith of his soul is the ambrosia of his immortality4 #cj4 ,he is the root of the tree of the body1 and the seed of the forest of actions2 he is the source of all existence1 and he is as the cooling moonlight diffusing delight to all beings by the heating beams of that balmy planet oshadhsa4 #ca4 ,the orb of the moon1 is said in the sruti as the lord of life1 the cause of the body and thoughts and actions of all living beings 7by growing the vegetable food for their subsistance and sustenance of their lives74 #cb4 ,it is from this moon like ,virt1 that contains all vitality in himself1 that all other living beings in the universe take their rise2 hence the moon is the container of life1 mind1 action and the sweet ambrosia of all living beings4 #cc4 ,it is the will or desire of ,virt1 that produced the gods ,brahm1 ,vishnu and ,siva from himself2 and all the celestial deities and demons1 are the miraculous creation of his mind4 #cd4 ,it is the wonderful nature of the intelligent ,intellect1 that whatever it thinks upon in its form of an infinitesimal atom1 the same appears immediately before it in its gigantic form and size4 #ce4 ,know ,rma1 the whole universe to be seat of the soul of ,virt 7i4e4 the whole universe to be teeming with life71 and the five elements to compose the five component parts of his body4 7,whose body is all nature and whose soul is ,god74 #cf4 ,virt that shines as the collective or universal soul of the world1 in the bright orb of the moon1 diffuses light and life to all individuals by spreading the moonbeams which produces the vegetable food for the supportance and sustenance of living beings4 #cg4 ,the vegetable substances1 which supply the animal bodies with their sustenance2 and thereby produce the life of living beings2 produce also the mind which becomes the cause of the actions and future births of persons by its efforts towards the same4 #ch4 ,in this manner a thousand virts and hundreds of ,mahkalpa periods have passed away2 and1 there many such still existing and yet to appear1 with varieties of customs and manners of peoples in different ages and climes4 #ci4 ,the first and best and supremely blest ,virt--the male ,deity1 resides in this manner of our conception of him1 and indistinct in his essence from the state of transcendent divinity2 with his huge body extending beyond the limits of space and time4 7,this ,virt or ,brahm is the ,demiurgus of platonic philosophy74 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,lecture ,,on ,,the ,,extinction ,,of ,,the ,,living ,,soul4 ,argument3--,extinction of individual souls in the universal1 by their abandonment of desires4 ,vasishtha continued3--,this primary ,purusha or the ,male agent--,virt1 is a volitive principle2 and whatever he wills to do at anytime1 the same appears instantly before him in its material form of the five elements4 #b4 ,it is this will1 ,o ,rma6 that the sages say to have become the world2 because by its being intent upon producing the same1 it became expanded in the same form4 7,the will of the ,deity is the deed itself74 #c4 ,virt is the cause of all things in the world1 which came to be produced in the same form as their material cause4 7,because the product is alike its producing cause1 being a fac-simile of the same74 #d ,as the great ,virt is collectively the aggregate of all souls1 so is he distributed likewise into the individual soul of every body4 7,hence every soul knowing itself to be a particle of the ,divine1 cannot think itself as otherwise74 #e4 ,the same ,virt is manifest in the meanest insect as also in the highest ,rudra1 in a small atom as in the huge hill1 and expands itself as the seed vessel to a very large tree 7all which are mistaken as parts of the illusive world74 #f4 ,the great ,virt is himself the soul of every individual1 from the creeping insect to the mighty ,rudra of air2 and his infinite soul extends even to atoms1 that are sensible and not insensible of themselves4 #g4 ,in proportion as ,virt expands and extends his soul to infinity1 so he fills the bodies of even the atomic animalcules with particles of his own essence4 #h4 ,there is nothing as great or small in reality in the world1 but everything appears to be in proportion as it is filled and expanded by the ,divine spirit4 #i4 ,the mind is derived from the moon1 again the moon has sprung from the mind2 so doth life spring from life and the fluid water flows from the congealed snow and ice and vice versa4 7,so there is nothing as greater or less or as the source and its outlet74 #aj4 ,life is but a drop of the seminal fluid1 distilled as a particle by the amorous union of parents4 7,this life being transmitted from generation to generation1 there is no one greater or less than another74 #aa4 ,this life then reflects in itself1 and derives the properties of the soul1 and likens it in the fulness of its perfections4 7,hence the soul and life are identified to one and the same principle by many74 #ab4 ,the living soul has then the consciousness of itself1 and of its existence as one pure and independent soul2 but there is no cause whatever1 as to how it comes to think itself a material being composed of the five elements4 #ac4 ,it is through opposition of nature that leads one into error1 but in fact nature ever remains the same2 as wrong interpretation of language imbues bad ideas whereas character remains the same4 #ad4 ,the living soul is conscious of its selfexistence1 by its knowledge of living by itself2 it is the instinct of the perception of things by the mind1 and not merely as the breath of life or external air1 which is devoid of consciousness4 #ae4 ,but being beset by the frost of ignorance1 and confined to the objects of sense1 the living soul is blinded of its consciousness and is converted to the breathing soul or vital life1 and so loses the sight of its proper course4 #af4 ,being thus deluded by the illusion of the world1 the soul sees the duality instead of its unity1 and being converted to the breathing of vital life1 it is lost to the sight of the soul which is hidden under it4 #ag4 ,we remain confined to this world of ignorance1 as long we enjoy the idea of ego2 but as soon as we give up the idea of ego1 we become a free man4 #ah4 ,therefore ,o ,rma6 ,when you will be able to know that there is no salvation and confinement in this world1 as well as no sat and asat1 then and there you will be a true free man4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,what ,,constitutes ,,true ,,knowledge4 ,argument3--,amateurs of learning of two kinds1 the real and the affected or ,description of the two kinds of the lovers of knowledge1 viz1 the real and the ,fictitious4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the wise man must always conduct himself wisely1 and not with mere show or affectation of wisdom2 because the ignorant even are preferable to the affected and pretended lovers of learning4 7,according to the maxim which says that1 if the show of anything be good for anything1 surely the ,reality must be better74 #b4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 what is meant by true wisdom1 and by the show or affectation of it2 and what is the good or bad result of either4 7i4e4 ,what kind of men they are1 their signs and their respective ends74 #c4 ,vasishtha replied3--,he who reads the sstras1 and practices his learning as a practitioner for earning his livelihood1 without endeavouring to investigate into the principles of his knowledge1 is called a friend to learning4 #d4 ,whose learning is seen to be employed in busy life only1 without showing its true effect in the improvement of the understanding2 such learning being but an art or means of getting a livelihood1 its possessor is called a fellow of learning2 7and no doctor in it74 #e4 ,he who is satisfied with his food and dress only1 as the best gain of his learning2 is known as an amateur and novice in the art of explaining the sstra 7or as mere teachers and pedagogues74 #f4 ,he who persists in the performance of his righteous and ceremonial acts1 as ordained by law 7,srouta sstra7 with an object of fruition1 is termed a probationer in learning1 and is near about to be crowned with knowledge4 #g4 ,the knowledge of the soul 7spiritual knowledge71 is reckoned as the true knowledge2 all other knowledge is merely a semblance of it1 being void of the essential knowledge 7necessary for mankind74 #h4 ,those who without receiving the spiritual knowledge1 are content with bits of their secular learning2 all their labour is in vain in this world1 and they are styled as mere noviciates in learning4 #i4 ,rma1 you must not rest here with your heart's content1 unless you can rest in the peace of your mind1 with your full knowledge of the knowable one2 you must not remain like a novice in learning1 in order to enjoy the fruitions of this deleterious world4 7,here all pleasure is palpable pain74 #aj4 ,let men work honestly on earth to earn their bread1 and let them take their food for sustenance of their lives2 let them live for the inquiry after truth1 and let them learn that truth1 which is calculated to prevent their return to this miserable world4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,yoga ,,conducive ,,to ,,happiness ,,or ,,the ,,way ,,to ,,happiness4 ,argument3--,the signs and characters of wise men and of their wisdom2 together with a disquisition into the nature of the world1 soul and the ,supreme spirit or ,brahma4 ,vasishtha resumed3--,the man who by his knowledge of the knowable one1 hath placed his reliance in him2 who hath set his mind to its pristine purity1 by purging it from its worldly propensities1 and has no faith in the merit of acts2 is one who is called the truly wise4 7,this chapter is in answer to ,rma's question about who is a wise man c474 #b4 ,the learned who knowing all kinds of learning1 and being employed in acts1 yet observe their indifference in every thing1 are called to be truly wise4 7,it is wisdom to act1 and not expect74 #c4 ,he whose heart is observed by the wise1 to retain its coldness in all his acts and efforts2 and whose mind is unaffectedly calm and quiet at all times2 is said to be the truly wise man4 #d4 ,the sense of one's liberation from the doom of birth and death1 is the true meaning of the word knowledge2 or else the art of procuring simple food and raiment1 is the practice of artificers only4 #e4 ,he is styled a wise man1 who having fallen in the current of his transactions1 remains without any desire or expectation1 and continues with as vacant a heart as the empty air4 #f4 ,the accidents of life come to pass1 without any direct cause and to no purpose2 and what was neither present nor expected1 comes to take place of its own accord4 7,all accidents are caused by an unknown and unforeseen fate or chance74 #g4 ,the appearance or disappearance of an event or accident proceeds from causes quite unknown to us1 and these afterwards become causes of the effects produced by them4 #h4 ,who can tell what is the cause of the absence of horn in hares1 and the appearance of water in the mirage1 which cannot be found out or seen at the sight of those objects4 #i4 ,those who explore in the causality of the want of horns in hares1 may well expect to embrace the necks of the sons and grandsons of a barren woman4 #aj4 ,the cause of the appearance of the unreal phenomena of the world to our sight1 is no other than our want of right sight 7i4e4 our ignorance71 which presents these phantoms to our view2 and which disappear at a glance of our acute vision 7of reason74 #aa4 ,the living 7or human7 soul appears as the ,supreme spirit1 when it is viewed upon by the sight of our blended intellect2 but no sooner does the light of ,divine intellect dawn in our minds1 than the living or animal soul dwindles into nothing4 #ab4 ,the insensible and unconscious ,supreme soul1 becomes awakened to the state of the living soul2 just as the potential mango of winter1 becomes the positive mango fruit in the genial spring4 #ac4 ,the intellect being awakened1 becomes the living soul2 which in its long course of its living1 becomes worn out with age and toil1 and passes into many births in many kinds of beings 7animal1 vegetable as well as insensible objects74 #ad4 ,wise men that are possessed of their intellectual sight1 look internally within themselves in the recesses of their hearts and minds2 without looking at the lookables without1 or thinking of anything or many efforts whatever2 but move on with the even course of their destiny1 as the water flows on its course to the ocean of eternity4 #ae4 ,they who have come to the light of their transcendent vision1 fix their sight to brighter views beyond the sphere of visibles2 and discern the invisible exposed to their view4 #af4 ,they who have come to the vision of transcendent light 7the glory of ,god71 have their slow and silent motion like that of a hidden water course2 owing to their heedlessness of everything in this world4 #ag4 ,they who are regardless of the visibles and thoughtless of the affairs of the world1 are like those that disentangled from their snares2 and they are truly wise1 who meddle with their business as freely1 as the free airs of heaven gently play with and move the leaves of trees4 #ah4 ,they who have come to sight of the transcendent light1 athwart the dizzy scenes of mortal life2 are not constrained to the course of this world1 as seafarers are not to be pent up in shallow and narrow pools and streams4 7,sailors are glad to be in the wide ocean1 than to ply in the waters of inland creeks74 #ai4 ,they that are slaves of their desire 7of enjoyment in this and next life71 are bound to the thraldom of works ordained by law and sruti2 and thus pass their lives in utter ignorance of truth4 7,hence knowledge and practice are opposed to one another1 the one being a state of bondage for some frail good and gain1 and the other of freedom and lasting bliss74 #bj4 ,the bodily senses fall upon carnal pleasures1 as vultures pounce upon putrid carrion2 curb and retract them therefore with diligence1 and fix thy mind to meditate on the state of ,brahma and the soul4 #ba4 ,know that ,brahma is not without the creation1 as no gold is without its form and reflection2 but keep yourself clear from thoughts of creation and reflexion1 and confine your mind to the meditation of ,brahma1 which is replete with perfect bliss4 #bb4 ,know the nature of ,brahma to be as inscrutable1 as the face of the universe is indiscernible1 in the darkness of the chaotic state at the end of a ,yuga age2 when there was no appearance of anything1 nor distinction of conduct and manners4 7,see ,manu's institutes ,i4 #b74 #bc4 ,and the elements of production existing in the consciousness of divine nature1 were in their quiescent agitation in the divine spirit2 as the movements of flimsy vapours amidst the darkness of an immovable and wide spreading cloud4 7,so are the fickle thoughts of the firm mind1 and the moving engines of the fixed machine74 #bd4 ,and as the particles of water are in motion1 in a still pond and in the standing pool2 so are the changing thoughts of the changeless soul1 and so the motions of the element bodies in unchanging essence and nature of ,god4 #be4 ,as the universal and undivided sky and space1 take the names of the different sides of heaven 7without having any name or side of its own72 so the undivided and partless ,brahma1 being one and same with the creation1 is understood as distinct and different from it4 #bf4 ,the world contains the egoism1 as the ego contains the world in it2 they contain the one within the other1 as the coats of the plantain tree contain and are contained under one another4 #bg4 ,the living soul or jva being possessed of its egoism1 sees its internal world 7which lies in its egoism71 through the pores of the organs of sense1 as lying without it2 in the same manner1 as the mountains look upon the lakes issuing out of its caverns1 as if they outward things altogether4 7,so the mental and internal world appears as a visibly external phenomenon74 #bh4 ,so when the living soul sees itself by mistake1 to any thing in the world 7i4e4 in the light of an object72 it is the same as one takes a ball or bar of gold1 for an ornament which was or is to be made of it4 7,so the soul residing in any body at anytime1 is not that body itself but the indwelling power thereof74 #bi4 ,hence they that are acquainted with the soul1 and are liberated in their life time 7or become jvanmukta72 never think themselves to be born or living or dying at any time 7though they are thought and looked upon as such by others4 ,the soul being eternal and unchangeable74 #cj4 ,those that are awakened to the sight of the soul1 are employed in the actions of life without looking at them2 7without taking heed of them in their hearts72 just as a house-holder discharges his domestic duties1 while his mind is fixed at the milk pot in the cowstall4 #ca4 ,as the ,god ,virt is situated with his moon like appearance1 in the heart of the universal frame1 so does the living soul reside in the heart of every individual body like a little or large dew drop1 according to the smallness or bigness of the corporeal body4 #cb4 ,this false and frail body believed to be a solid reality1 on account of its tripartite figure2 and is mistaken for the ego and soul1 owing to the intelligence that is displayed and dwells in it4 #cc4 ,the living soul is confined like a silkworm1 in the cell of its own making ,karma-,kosha1 by acts of its past life1 and resides with its egoism in the seed of its parents1 as the floral fragrance dwells in the honey cups of flowers4 #cd4 ,the egoism residing in the seminal seed1 spreads its intelligence throughout the body from head to foot2 as the moon-beams are scattered throughout the circumference of the whole universe4 #ce4 ,the soul stretches out the fluid of its intelligence1 through the openings of its organs of sense2 and this being carried to a sides through the medium of air1 extends all over the three worlds1 as the vapour and smoke fill and cover the face of the sky4 #cf4 ,the body is full of sensibility1 both in its inner as well as outer parts2 but it is in the viscera of the heart1 where our desires 7vsan7 and egoism 7abhimna7 are deeply seated4 #cg4 ,the living soul is composed of its desires only1 and consists of and subsists under its hearty wishes alone1 the same soon come out of themselves from within the heart1 and appear on the outside in the outward conduct of the person4 7,whatever is in the heart1 the same appears also in action74 #ch4 ,the error of egoism is never to be suppressed1 by any other means whatsoever2 save by one's unmindfulness 7nis-chitta7 of himself1 and fulness of divine presence 7,brahmai karasya7 in his calm and quiet soul4 #ci4 ,though dwelling on your present thoughts1 yet you must rely in your reflection of the vacuous ,brahma2 by suppression of your egoism by degrees and your self-controul betimes4 #dj4 ,they who have known the soul1 manage themselves here without fostering their earthly thoughts anymore2 and remain as silent images of wood1 without looking at or thinking of any thing at all4 #da4 ,he who has less of earthly thoughts in him1 is said to be liberated in the world2 and though living in it1 he is as clear and free in his mind as the open air 7no earthly affections1 tie down his rising soul74 #db4 ,the egoism which is bred in the pith1 grows into intelligence extending from head to foot2 and circulates throughout the whole body1 as the sun beams pervade all over the sphere of heaven4 #dc4 ,it becomes the sight of the eyes1 the taste of the tongue and hearing in the ears2 then the five senses being fastened to the desires in the heart1 plunge the ego into the sea of sensuality4 #dd4 ,thus the omnipresent intellect1 becomes the mind after losing its purity2 and is employed with one or other of the senses1 as the common moisture of the earth1 grows the sprout in the vernal season4 #de4 ,he who thinks on the various objects of the senses1 without knowing their unreality and the reality of the only one2 and does not endeavour for his liberation here1 has no end of his troubles in life4 7,because sensible objects1 afford no intellectual or spiritual happiness74 #df4 ,that man reigns as an emperor1 who is content with any kind of food and raiment2 and with any sort of bedstead at any place4 7,and is not confined to any particular mode of life74 #dg4 ,who with all his desires of the heart1 is indifferent to all the outward objects of desire2 who with his vacant mind is full with his soul1 and being as empty vacuum is filled with the breath of life4 #dh4 ,who whether he is sitting or sleeping1 or going anywhere or remaining unmoved1 continues as quiet as in his sleeping state2 and though stirred by any one1 he is not awakened from his slumber of nirvna1 in which his mind and its thoughts1 are all drowned and have become extinct4 7,this is the state of the sixth stage of ,yoga meditation74 #di4 ,consciousness though common to all1 resides yet in each breast1 like fragrance in flowers and flavour in fruits4 #ej4 ,it is self-consciousness only1 that makes an individual person1 and its extinction is said to form the wide world all about2 but being confined to the soul or one's self1 it vanishes the sight of the world from view4 7i4e4 ,the subjective consciousness is the soul or self1 and its objectivity makes the world2 and this is the abstract of this doctrine74 #ea4 ,be unconscious of the objects on earth2 and remain insensible of all your prosperity and affluence3 make your heart as hard as impenetrable as stone1 if you will be happy forever4 #eb4 ,o righteous ,rma6 convert the feeling of your heart to unfeelingness1 and make your body and mind as insensible as the hardest stone 7upala or opal74 #ec4 ,of all the positive and negative acts1 of the wise and unwise sets of men1 there is nothing that makes such a marked difference between them1 as those proceeding from the desire of the one1 and those from want of the desire of the other4 #ed4 ,the result of the desired actions of the unwise1 is their stretching out of the world before them2 while that of the acts done without desire by the wise1 serves to put an end to the world before them4 7,the acts of desire produce repeated births in the world1 while the other puts an end to the future transmigrations of the soul74 #ee4 ,all visibles are destructible1 and those that are destroyed come to be renewed to life2 but that which is neither destroyed nor resuscitated1 is thyself--thy very soul4 #ef4 ,the knowledge of existence 7of the world71 is without its foundation2 and though it is thought to be existent1 it is not found to be so in reality2 it is as the water in the mirage1 which does not grow the germ of the world4 #eg4 ,the right knowledge of things1 removes the thought of egoism from the mind2 and though it may be thought of in the mind1 yet it takes no deep root in the heart1 as the burnt seed or grain does not sprout forth in the ground4 #eh4 ,the man that does his duties or not1 but remains passionless and thoughtless and free from frailty2 has his rest in the soul1 and his nirvna is always attendant upon him4 #ei4 ,those who are saintly calm and quiet by the controul of their mind1 and by suppression of the bonds 7appetites7 for enjoyments2 but not having weakened 7governed7 their natures1 have in their hearts a mine of evils4 #fj4 ,the wise soul is full of light like the cloudless sky1 and is distinguished from others by its brightness2 but the same soul which is alike in all1 appears as dim as the evening twilight in the ignorant4 #fa4 ,as a man seated in this place1 sees the light of heaven 7heavenly bodies71 as coming to him from a great distance1 and filling the intermediate space2 so the light of the ,supreme soul fills and reaches to all4 #fb4 ,the infinite and invisible intellect1 which is as wondrous as the clear vacuum of the sky2 conceives and displays this wonderful world1 within the infinitude of its own vacuity4 #fc4 ,the world appears to the learned and unerring1 and those who have got rid of the error of the world1 and rest in their everlasting tranquility1 as a consumed and extinguished lamp2 while it seems to all common people1 to be placed in the air1 by the will of ,god and for the enjoyment of all4 7,the two opposite views of the world with the learned and ignorant74 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,story ,,of ,a ,,pious ,,br,,hmana ,,and ,,his ,,nirv,,na ,,extinction4 ,argument3--,account of ,vasishtha's meeting a hermit named ,manki in a desert land2 and their mutual conversation with regard to self-resignation and liberation4 ,vasishtha said3--7,i have delivered to you my lectures7 on dispassionateness1 inappetence and resignation of worldly desires2 rise therefore and go beyond the material world after the example of one ,manki 7as related herein--below74 #b4 ,there lived once on a time before a ,brhmana named ,manki1 who was applauded for his devotion and steadfastness to holy vows4 #c4 ,it happened at one time1 that ,i was coming down from the vault of heaven1 upon an invitation from your grandfather ,aja on some particular occasion4 #d4 ,as ,i then came to wander on the surface of the earth1 in order to reach at the realm of your grandsire2 ,i happened to meet before me a vast desert1 with the burning sunshine over it4 #e4 ,it was a dreary waste without its boundary on any side1 filled with burning sands and obscured by grey and flying dust over it2 and marked by a few scattered hamlets here and there4 #f4 ,the extended waste appeared as the boundless and spotless immensity of ,brahma1 by its unrestricted vacuity1 howling winds1 burning heat and light1 its seeming water in the sand1 and untrodden ground resting in peace4 #g4 ,it seemed as delusive as the appearance of avidy or illusion itself2 by the deceptive waters of mirage upon the sand1 by its dulness and empty space and the mist overhanging on all sides of it4 #h4 ,as ,i was wandering along this hollow and sandy wilderness1 ,i saw a wayfarer sauntering before me and muttering to himself in the travail of his wearisome journey4 #i4 ,the ,traveller said3--,o the powerful sun6 ,that afflicts me with his blazing beams1 as much as the company of evil-minded men is for our annoyance4 #aj4 ,the sunbeams seem to pour down fire on earth1 and melt down the pith and marrow of my body and bones2 as they have been drying up the leaves and igniting the forest trees 7for a conflagration74 #aa4 ,therefore it behoves me to repair to yonder hamlet1 to allay the weariness of my journey1 and recover my strength and spirits for travelling onward4 7,so it is said3--the shady bower invites the dry1 and drives out the cooled74 #ab4 ,so saying1 he was about to proceed towards the village1 which was an habitation of the low caste ,kirtas4 7,the kerrhoids of ,ptolemy1 and the present ,kerntes of the ,himalayas74 ,when ,i interrupted him by saying3-- #ac4 ,vasishtha said3--,i hail thee1 ,o thou passenger of the sandy desert1 and may all be well with thee1 that art my fellow traveller on the way1 and art so good looking and passionless3-- #ad4 ,o traveller of the lower earth6 who have long lived in the habitations of men1 and have not found your rest1 how is it now that you expect to have it1 in this solitary abode of this mean people8 #ae4 ,you can have no rest at the abode of the vile people in yonder village1 which is mostly peopled by the ,pamara villains2 thirst is not appeased1 but increased by a beverage of briny water4 7,so it is said3--,the unquenchable appetite of the greedy1 is never quenched by nourishment1 but it nourishes it the more1 as the fuel and butter serve to kindle and feed the fire74 #af4 ,these huts and hamlets shelter the cowardly cow-herds 7,pallava ,gopas7 under them1 and them that are afraid to walk in the paths of men1 as the timid deer are averse to rove beyond their own track4 7,so these solitary swains are as the savage beasts of the forests74 #ag4 ,they have no stir or agitation of reason1 nor any flash of understanding or mental faculties in them2 they are not afraid of or averse to base actions1 but remain and move on as stone-mills and wheels3-- #ah4 ,their manliness consists in the emotions of their passions and affections1 and in exhibitions of the signs of their cupidity and aversion1 and they delight mostly in actions1 that appear pleasant at the time being or present moment4 7,they are occupied with the present only1 being forgetful of the past and careless of the future74 #ai4 ,as there is no appearance of a body of rainy clouds1 over the dry and parched lands of the desert1 so there is no shadow of pure and cooling knowledge ever stretched out on the minds of these people4 7i4e4 ,they have never come under the benign influence of civilization74 #bj4 ,rather dwell in a dark cave as a snake1 or remain as a blind worm in the bosom of a stone2 or limp about as a lame stag in the barren desert1 than mix in company of these village people4 #ba4 ,these rude rustics resemble the potions of poison1 that are mixed with honey2 they are sweet to taste for a moment1 but prove deadly at last4 7,such are the robbers of deserts and woods74 #bb4 ,again these villainous villagers are as rude as the rough winds1 which are blowing with gusts of dust amidst the shattered huts1 built with grassy turfs and tufts of the dried leaves of trees4 7,the word trina means straw also or a straw built hut74 #bc4 ,being thus spoken unto by me1 the traveller felt himself as glad1 as if he was bathed in ambrosial showers4 #bd4 ,the passenger said3--,who art thou sir1 with thy magnanimous soul1 that seemest to me to be full and perfect in thyself1 and full of ,divine spirit in thy soul4 ,thou lookest at the hustle of the bustle of the world1 as a passer is unconcerned with the commotion of the villages beside his way4 #be4 ,hast thou sir1 drunk the ambrosial draught of the gods1 that gave thee thy ,divine knowledge8 and art infused with the spirit of the sovran ,virt1 that is quite apart from the plenum it fills1 and is quite full with its entire voidness 7stretches through all1 and unmixed with any74 #bf4 ,i see thy soul to be as void and yet as full as his1 and as still and yet as moving as the ,divine spirit2 it is all and not all what exists1 and something yet nothing itself4 #bg4 ,it is quiet and comely1 shining and yet unseen2 it is inert and yet full of force and energy1 it is inactive with all its activity and action2 and such soul is thine4 7,these antithetic attributes of the ,divine soul1 are applied objectively to that of ,vasishtha in the second person1 as they are subjectively put to one's ownself in the first person in many other places4 ,thus in the ,bhagavad ,gt where ,krishna assumes to himself the title of ,brahma and says 8,resort to ,me alone0 so says the ,sufi ,mansur 8,i am the true one0 so says ,hastamulaka in his celebrated rhapsody4 8,i am that eternal that is conceived by every one407 #bh4 ,though now journeying on earth1 you seem to range far above the skies2 you are supportless1 though supported on a sound basis 7of the body or ,brahma74 7i4e4 ,the spirit and mind range freely every where1 though they appear to be confined within the limits of the body1 or to proceed from and rest in the eternal essence of ,brahma74 #bi4 ,thou art not stretched over the objects1 and yet no object subsists without thee2 thy pure mind like the beauteous orb of the moon1 is full of the nectarous beams of immortality4 7,the moon is called the lord of medicinal plants1 having the virtues of conferring life and health to the body74 #cj4 ,thou shinest as the full-moon1 without any of her digits or blackish spots in thee2 thou art cooling as the moon-beams1 and full of ambrosial juice as the disk of that watery planet4 #ca4 ,i see the existence and non-existence of the world1 depend upon thy will1 and thy intellect contains in it the revolving world1 as the germ of a tree contains within it the would be fruit4 #cb4 ,know me sir1 as a ,brhmana sprung from the sage ,sandilya's race2 my name is ,manki1 and am bent on visiting places of pilgrimage4 #cc4 ,i have made very long journeys1 and seen many holy places in my peregrinations all about2 and have now after long bent my course to revisit my native home4 7,the toils being over1 the traveller returns home1 and there to die4 ,goldsmith74 #cd4 ,but my mind is so sick of and averse to the world1 that ,i hesitate to return to my home1 after having seen the lives of men passing away as flashes of lightening from this world4 #ce4 ,deign now sir1 to give me a true account of yourself1 as the minds of holymen are as deep and clear as limpid lakes4 #cf4 ,when great men like yourself show their kindness1 to one as mean as myself at the first sight of him1 his heart is sure to glow with love and gratitude to them1 as the lotus buds are blown 7by the premature gleams of the rising sun71 and are led to be hopeful of their favour towards him4 #cg4 ,hence ,i hope sir1 that you will kindly remove the error1 which is bred in me by my ignorance of the delusions of this tempting world4 7,lit4 ,i believe you are able to do so c474 #ch4 ,vasishtha replied3--,know me1 ,o wise man1 to be ,vasishtha--the sage and saint1 and an inhabitant of the etherial region2 and am bound to this way1 on some errand of the sagely king 7,aja by name74 #ci4 ,i tell you sir1 not to be disheartened at your ignorance1 as you have already come to the path of wisdom1 and very nearly got over the ocean of the world1 and arrived at the coast of transcendental knowledge4 #dj4 ,i see you have come to the possession of the invaluable treasure1 of your indifference to worldly matters2 for this kind of speech and sentiments1 and the sedateness of disposition which you have displayed1 can never proceed from a worldling1 and bespeak your high-mindedness4 #da4 ,know that as a precious stone is polished1 by gentle abrasion of its rubbish2 so the mind comes to its reasoning1 by the rubbing off of the dross of its prejudice4 #db4 ,tell me what you desire to know1 and how you want to abandon the world2 it is in my opinion done by practice of what one is taught by his preceptor1 or by interrogatories of what he does not know or understand4 #dc4 ,it is said that whoso has a mind1 to go across the doom of future birth or transmigration of his soul1 should be possessed of good and pure desires in his mind1 and an understanding inclined to reasoning under the direction of his spiritual guide4 ,such a person is verily entitled to attain to the state1 which is free from future sorrow and misery4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,indifference ,,or ,,insouciance ,,of ,,manki ,,to ,,worldliness4 ,argument3--,manki's relation of the miseries of his life and of this world1 together with the evils attendant on ,human body and its senses and understanding4 ,vasishtha said3--,being thus accosted by me1 ,manki fell at my feet 7in salutation72 and then shedding the tears of joy from both his eyes1 spoke to me on our way1 with due respect 7to my rank74 #b4 ,manki said3--,o venerable sir1 ,i have been long travelling in all the ten sides of the earth2 but ,i have never met a holy man like yourself1 who could remove the doubts arising in my mind4 #c4 ,sir1 ,i have gained today the knowledge which is the chief good of the body of a ,brhmana1 whose sacred person is more venerable and far more superior in birth and dignity1 than the bodies of all other beings in heaven and on earth2 but sir am sorry at heart1 at seeing the evils of this nether world4 #d4 ,repeated births and deaths1 and the continued rotations of pleasure and pain1 are all to be accounted as painful1 on account of their terminating in pain4 7,pain is pain1 and pleasure too ends in pain74 #e4 ,and because pleasure leads to greater pain 7at its want71 it is better1 ,o sage1 to continue in one's pain 7which becomes a pleasure by long habit74 ,the sequence of fleeting pleasure being but lasting pain1 it is to be accounted as such even as long as it lasts4 #f4 ,o friend6 all pleasures are as painful to me1 as my pains have become pleasurable at this advanced age of mine2 when my teeth and the hairs of my body1 are falling off with the decay and wearing out of my internal parts also4 #g4 ,my mind is continually aspiring to higher stations in life1 and is not persevering in its holy course2 and the germ of my salvation1 is choked by the thorns and thistles of my evil and worldly desires4 #h4 ,my mind is situated amidst its passions and affections1 within the covert of my body1 as the banian tree stands amidst its falling leaves in the interior of a rustic village2 and the desires are flying like hungry vultures all over its body1 in search of their abominable sustenance4 #i4 ,my wicked and crooked thoughts are as the brambles of creeping and thorny plants1 and my life is a weary and dreary maze1 as a dark and dismal night 7where and when we are blind-folded to descry our right way74 #aj4 ,the world with all its people1 being parched and dried up like withered plants1 without the moisture of true knowledge1 and decaying day by day with incessant cares1 is fast advancing towards its dissolution1 without being destroyed all at once4 #aa4 ,all our present acts are drowned in those of our past lives1 and like withered trees bear no flower or fruit in our present life2 and actions done with desire1 terminate with the gain of their transitory objects4 7,therefore no action nor meritorious deeds of religion1 can ever tend to our salvation4 7,which is had by our faith alone774 #ab4 ,our lives are wasted in our attachment to family and dependants1 and never employed to lead our souls across the ocean of the world2 the desire of earthly enjoyments are decaying day by day1 and a dreadful eternity awaits before us4 #ac4 ,our prosperity and possessions1 whether they are more or less1 are as noxious to our souls1 as the thorny and poisonous plants growing in the hollow caves of earth2 again they are attended with thoughts and cares causing fever heat in the soul1 and emaciating the body4 #ad4 ,fortune makes the brave and fortunate people1 fall sometimes in the hands of foes2 as the man ardent with the desire of gems in his mind1 is tempted to catch the gemming serpents1 lying in dark caves 7and lose his life in attempting to seize the treasure74 #ae4 ,i being entirely inclined or given up to the objects of sense1 am abandoned by the wise 7who hate to touch the vile72 and my mind which is polluted by worldly desires1 and is all hollow within1 is shunned by them as a dead sea with its troubled and turbid waters4 #af4 ,my mind is turning also about false vanities1 as the rheumatic pains all about the body4 #ag4 ,and ,i am also even with my innumerable deaths hunting after desired vacuity for sorrow1 though my mind is purged from the dross of ignorance by reading sstra and associating good men2 as the moon and stars which with its power of removing darkness1 stand good in vacuity4 #ah4 ,there is no end of the dark night of my ignorance1 when the gloomy spectre of my egoism is playing its part2 and ,i have not the knowledge1 which like a lion may destroy the furious elephant of my ignorance1 and burn down as fire the straws of my actions4 #ai4 ,the dark night of my earthly desire or cupidity is not yet over1 and the sun of my disgust of the world is not risen as yet2 ,i still believe the unreal as real1 and mind is roving about as an elephant4 #bj4 ,my senses have been continually tempting me1 and ,i know not what will be the end of these temptations1 which prevent even the wise people1 from observing precepts of the sstras4 #ba4 ,this want of sight or disregard of the sstras1 leads to our blindness by kindling our desires1 and by blinding our understanding2-- #bb4 ,therefore tell me sir1 what am ,i to do in this difficulty1 and what is that may conduce to my chief good1 that ,i am asking thee to relate4 #bc4 ,it is said that1 the mist of our ignorance flies like the clouds1 at the sight of wise men and purification of our desires2 now sir1 verify the truth of this saying of wise men1 by your enlightening my understanding1 and giving peace to my mind4 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,vasishtha',s ,,admonition ,,to ,,manki4 ,argument3--,the avarana sakti or all-enfolding power of ,god is called ignorance1 his vikshepa sakti or delusive power is the cause of error1 and the combination of both cause the world4 ,vasishtha said3--,consciousness 7of the objects of perception71 their reflection1 the desire of having them and their imagination1 are the four roots of evil in this world2 and though these words are meaningless1 yet considerable sense is attached to them 7as categories of some schools of false philosophy72 as the four sources of knowledge4 #b4 ,know that knowledge 7of externals7 is their reflexion also1 which is the seat 7or root7 of all evils2 and all our calamities proceed therefrom1 as thickly as vegetation springs out of the vernal juice 7or breath of spring74 #c4 ,men garbed in the robes of their desires1 walk in the dreary paths of this world1 with very many varieties of their actions 7both temporal and ritual71 as there are circles drawn under a circle 7i4e4 one circle of duty enclosing many others under it74 #d4 ,but these aberrations and wanderings over the earth1 are at an end to the wise together with their desires2 as the moisture of the ground1 is dried up and diminishes at the end of the vernal season4 #e4 ,our various desires1 are the growers of the very many thorny plants and brambles in the world2 as the vernal moisture is the cause of growing the thick clumps of kadal or plantain trees4 #f4 ,the world appears as a dark maze to the mind1 that is cloyed in the serum of its lickerish appetites2 as the ground is shaded under the bushy trees1 by the sap supplied by the vernal season4 #g4 ,there is nothing in existence except the clear and vacuous intellect1 as there is nothing in the boundless sky1 beside the hollow vacuity of the air4 7,this is another passage of the vacuistic theory of ,vasishtha74 #h4 ,there is no intelligent soul beside this one1 and all else is the everlasting reflexion of this one alone2 ,this it is which is styled ignorance and error1 and the world also4 #i4 ,he is seen without being seen1 and is lost upon being seen 7that is1 the ,lord is seen in the spirit and not by the visual sight74 ,on looking to it an unreal or evil spirit appears to sight instead of the true and holy spirit1 like ghosts and goblins appearing before children4 7,whoever wishes to the spirit of ,god1 sees the spirit of the devil only74 #aj4 ,it is by rejecting all visible sights1 the understanding views the one essence of all1 and all things dwindle into it1 as all the rivers on earth1 run and fall into one universal ocean4 7,the one invisible unity is the essence of multiplicity74 #aa4 ,as an earthen ware cannot be without its earth2 so all intelligent beings1 are never devoid of their intelligence or the intellect4 7,this couplet corroborates the eighth verse1 where it is said that1 there is nothing except the intellect74 #ab4 ,whatever is known by the understanding1 is said to be our knowledge2 but the understanding has no knowledge of the unknowable1 nor want of understanding can have any knowledge1 owing to their opposite natures4 7,because understanding and knowledge are of the same nature1 but understanding and unknowable are contraries1 and want of understanding and the knowable are sub-contraries74 7,the plain meaning is that the understanding knows the knowable and not the unknowable2 while want of understanding knows neither the one nor the other74 #ac4 ,as there is the same relation of knowledge between the looker1 his seeing and sight 7i4e4 the subject1 act1 and object of seeing72 so it is omniscience of ,brahma which is the only essence4 7,sraikarasyam71 all else is as null as an aerial flower 7,kha-pushpa7 which never exists4 #ad4 ,things of the same kind bear an affinity to one another1 and readily unite in one 7as water with water c472 so the world being alike to its notion1 and all notions being alike to the eternal ideas in the mind of ,god1 the world and the divine mind1 are certainly the same thing and no other4 #ae4 ,if there be no knowledge or notion of wood and stone in us1 then they would be the same as the non-existent things of which we have no notion3--7such as the horns of a hare or a flower in the air74 #af4 ,when the outward and visible features of things1 are so exactly similar to the notions and knowledge of them that we have in our minds2 therefore they appear to be no other than our notions or knowledge of them4 7,because things agreeing in all respects with one another1 must be the same and very thing74 #ag4 ,all visible appearances in the universe1 are only the outstretched reflexions of our inner ideas2 their fluctuation is as that of the winds1 as their motion is as that of the waters in the ocean4 #ah4 ,all things are mixed up with the omnipresent spirit1 as a log of wood is covered over by lac-dye2 both of which appear to be mixed together to the unthinking1 but both are taken for the one and same thing by the thinking part of mankind2 7who believe the spirit to exhibit itself in all shapes pna jathaika bhuvana74 #ai4 ,the idea of reciprocity is unity1 and the knowledge of mutuality is union also2 such as the interchange of water and milk1 and so the correlation of vision and visibles2 and not as the union of the wood and lac-dye with one another4 7,this means unity to consist in the interchangeableness and interdependence of two things as of the spirit and matter1 and not as sticking the lac-dye upon wood1 but as fire inhering in every particle of the wood1 as it is expressed in the afore cited sruti73-- #bj4 ,the knowledge of one's egoism is his bondage1 and that of his unegoism is his emancipation from it2 thus one's imprisonment in and enfranchisement from the confines of his body and the world2 being both under his subjection1 why is it that he should be slack to sit himself at freedom from his perpetual thraldom8 #ba4 ,like our sight of two moons in the sky1 and our belief of water in the mirage1 we believe in the reality of our egoism1 which is altogether an unreality4 7,lit4 ,we think it present without its presence74 #bb4 ,the disbelief in one's self or his egoism1 removes his meity 7mmat7 or selfishness also2 and it being possible to everyone to get rid of them1 how is it that he should be ignorant of it8 #bc4 ,why do you maintain your egoism only1 to be confined in the cell of your body1 like a plum drowned in a cup of water1 or like the air confined in a pot8 your relation to ,god is to be no other but like himself and to be one with him1 is to have the reciprocal knowledge of yourself in the likeness of ,god 7i4e4 to be like the image of ,god in perfection74 #bd4 ,it is said that the want of reciprocal knowledge1 makes the union of two things into one 7i4e4 the entire commingling of two things together makes them one72 but this is wrong in both ways1 because neither doth any dull material thing or any spiritual substance1 lose its own form 7however mixed up with one or the other74 #be4 ,neither is force converted into inertness 7i4e4 the spirit never becomes matter71 from the indestructibility of their nature1 and whenever the spiritual is seen or considered as the material1 it becomes a duality1 and there is no unity in this view of the two4 7,hence there is no union or entire assimilation either of the spirituals or materials74 #bf4 ,thus men being under the influence of their desires1 and beset by their vanities of various kinds 7altogether7 are going on downward still1 as a stone torn from the head of a cliff1 falls from precipice to precipice headlong to the ground4 #bg4 ,men are as straws carried here and there by the current of their desire1 and whirled about in its eddy2 they are overtaken by and overwhelmed in an endless series of difficulties which are impossible for me to enumerate4 7,the ,sanskrit na prjate is the ,bengali prjyan74 #bh4 ,men being cast like a ball flung from the palm of fate1 are hurried onward by their ardent desires till they are hurled headlong into the depth of hell2 where being worried and worn out with hell torments1 they take other forms and shapes after lapses of long periods 7to undergo fresh toils and troubles on earth74 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,manki',s ,,attainment ,,of ,,final ,,extinction ,,or ,,nirv,,na4 ,argument3--,the vanity of ,human wishes1 and the ,tranquility of ,rational and spiritual speculation4 ,vasishtha said3--,thus the living soul1 being let fall in the mazy path of his world1 is encompassed by calamities and accidents as countless as the animalcules1 which are generated in the rainy season4 #b4 ,all these accidents though unconnected with one another1 follow yet so fast and closely upon each other1 as the detached stone lying scattered and close together in the rocky desert1 and linked in a lengthening chain of thought in the mind of man4 #c4 ,the mind blinded of its reason1 becomes a wilderness overgrown with the arbour of its calamities1 and yet appearing to be smiling as a vernal grove before men1 by its feigned merriment and good humour4 7,mirth and sorrow are both of them the effects of unreasonableness74 #d4 ,o how pitiable are all those beings6 ,who being bound to their subjection to hope1 are subjected to divers states of pain and pleasure1 in their repeated births in various forms on earth4 #e4 ,alas for those strange and abnormal desires1 which subject the minds of men1 to the triple error of taking the non-existent to be actually present before them4 7,the triple error 7,triputi bhrama7 consists in the belief of the visibles1 their vision and the viewer of them1 that is1 in the subject1 act and objects of sight1 which are all viewed as unreal in the light of vednta74 #f4 ,those who have known the truth1 are delighted in themselves1 they are immortal in their mortal life1 and are diffusers of pure light all about them4 ,what then is the difference between the sapient sage who is coldhearted in all respects1 and the cooling moon 7who cools and enlivens and enlightens the world with her ambrosial beams874 #g4 ,and what is the difference between a whimsical boy and a covetous fool1 who covets anything whatever at hand without any consideration of the past and future 7good or evil which attends upon it74 #h4 ,what is the difference between the greedy fool and voracious fish or whale1 that devour the alluring bait of pleasure or pain2 and will not give up the line until they are sure to give up their lives for the same4 7,all seeming pleasure is real pain1 and bane of both the body and soul of men74 #i4 ,all our earthly possessions whether of our bodies or lives1 our wives1 friends and properties1 are as frail as a brittle plate made of sand1 which no sooner it is dried and tried than it spurts and breaks to pieces4 #aj4 ,o my soul6 ,thou mayst forever wander1 in hundred of bodies of various forms in repeated births2 and pass from the heaven of ,brahm to the empyrean of ,brahma2 yet thou canst never have thy tranquility1 unless thou attainest the even insouciance of thy mind4 7,the stoic impassivity is the highest felicity74 #aa4 ,the ties and bondage of the world1 are dispersed by mature introspection into the nature of things2 as the uneven ruggedness of the road1 does not retard the course of the wayfarer walking with his open eyes4 #ab4 ,the negligent soul becomes a prey to concupiscence and unruly passions1 as the heedless passenger is caught in the clutches of demons2 but the well-guarded spirit is free from their fright4 #ac4 ,as the opening of the eyes1 presents the visibles to sight2 so doth the waking consciousness introduce the ego and phenomenal world into the mind4 7i4e4 ,consciousness is the cause of both the subjective and objective74 #ad4 ,and as the shutting of the eyelids1 shuts out the view of the visible objects from sight2 so1 ,o destroyer of enemies1 the closing of consciousness1 puts out the appearance of all sights and thoughts from your eyes and mind 7and this unmindfulness of everything besides1 prepares the soul for the sight of the most high74 #ae4 ,the sense of the existence of the external world1 together with that of one's ego or self-existence1 is all unreal and inane1 it is consciousness alone that shows everything in itself and by the fluctuation of its erroneous2 as the motion of winds displays the variegated clouds in the empty air4 7,it is the imaginative faculty of the mind1 that creates and presents these phantoms before it74 #af4 ,it is the divine consciousness only1 which exhibits the unreal phenomenals as real in itself1 without creating anything apart or separate from its own essence2 in the same manner as earth or any metal produces a pot or a jar out of itself1 and which is no wise distinct or separate from its substance4 #ag4 ,as the sky is only a vacuity1 and the wind is a mere fluctuation of air2 and as the waves are composed of nothing but water2 so the world is no other than a phenomenon of consciousness3 7because we have no knowledge of it without our consciousness of it74 #ah4 ,the world subsists undivided in the bas-relief of consciousness1 and without a separate existence of its own apart or disjoined in any part1 from its substance or substratum of the conscious soul1 which is as calm and clear as the empty air1 and the world resembles the shadow of a mountain in the bosom of water1 or a surge or wave rising on the surface of the sea4 #ai4 ,there rises a calm coolness in the souls of wise and inexcitable sages1 when the shining worlds appear as the cooling moon beams falling on the internal mirror of their minds4 #bj4 ,how is it and by what means and in what manner1 is this invisible supreme light1 produced in the calm and quiet and all pervading auspicious soul1 amidst the empty expanse of the universe4 7,here is a double question of the production of uncreated light in creation and of the manifestation of divine and spiritual light in the quiet soul74 #ba4 ,that essence which is expressed by the term ,brahma1 forms the essential nature and form of everything besides2 and the same is permeated throughout all nature1 except where it is obstructed by some preventive cause or other1--bdh4 #bb4 ,anything which presents a hindrance to this1 and whatever is preventive of the pervasion of divine essence1 is a nullity in nature like a sky flower--ksa pushpa1 which is nothing at all in nubibus4 #bc4 ,the wise man sits quietly like a stone1 without the action of even his inner and mental faculties2 because the lord is without the reflection or sensation of anything1 and without birth or decay at anytime4 7,here the mind and its workings1 are explained as vikalpan or changing thoughts1 which are wanting in the eternal mind74 #bd4 ,he who remains insensible and unconscious of every thing1 like the empty state of the open sky2 arrives by his constant practice to his state of sound sleep or hypnotism without the disturbance of dreams4 #be4 ,but how is it to be known that the world is the mere thought or will of the ,divine mind8 ,whereto it is said3 ,it is the creative power of ,brahma 7called ,brahm or ,hiranyagarbha--the demiurgus71 thought of forming the wondrous world in his mind 7as it were he pictured it in himself71 without the aid of any tool or instrument or means or ground for its construction2 hence 7it is plain71 the world is merely ideal and nothing real1 nor is there any cause or creator of it whatsoever4 #bf4 ,as the lord stretches out the world in his thought1 he or it instantly becomes the same2 and as the lord is without any visible form1 so this seeming world has no visible nor material form whatever2 nor is there any framer of what is simply ideal4 #bg4 ,so all men are happy or unhappy1 as they think themselves to be one or the other in their minds2 they all abide in the same universal soul1 which is common to all2 and yet believe themselves every one of his own kind in his mind4 #bh4 ,therefore it is as vain to view anything1 or any intellectual being1 in the light of an earthly substance1 as it is false to take the visionary hills of one's dream1 in the light of their being real rocks situated on earth4 #bi4 ,by assigning egoism to one's self1 he becomes subject to error and change2 but the want of egoism1 places the soul to its invariable identity and tranquility4 7i4e4 ,the sense of one's personality1 subjects him to change and misery74 #cj4 ,as the meaning of the word bracelet1 is nothing different from the gold 7of which it is made72 so the sense of thy false egoism1 is no other than that of the tranquil soul4 7,the soul1 self1 and ego are all the one and same thing74 #ca4 ,the anaesthetic sage1 that is cold-blooded and sober minded as a silent muni1 is no voluntary actor of any act1 although he may be physically employed in his active duties2 and the quiet saint carries with him an empty and careless mind1 although it may be full of learning and wisdom4 7,lit4 the knower of ,god is as quiet1 as the calm vacuum of heaven74 #cb4 ,the wise man manages himself as a mechanical figure or puppet1 never moving of its own motion but moving as it is moved1 and having no impulse of his desire within him1 he sits as quiet as a doll without its mobility4 #cc4 ,the wise man that knows the soul1 is as quiet as a babe sleeping in a swinging cradle1 and which is moved without moving itself2 or he moves the members of his body like a baby1 without having any cause for his doing so4 #cd4 ,the soul that is intent on the thought of the one 7,supreme7 only1 and is as calm and quiet as the infinite spirit of ,god2 becomes unconscious of itself and all other things1 together with all its objects of desire1 and expectations of its good and bliss4 #ce4 ,he that is not the viewer himself1 nor has the view before him1 and is exempt from the triple condition 7triputi bhba7 of the subjective1 objective and action2 can have no object in his view2 which is concentrated in the vision of the invisible one4 #cf4 ,our view or regard of the world1 is our strict bondage1 and disregard of it1 is our perfect freedom2 he who rests therefore in his disregard of 7or indifference to7 whatever is expressed by words1 has nothing to look after or desire4 #cg4 ,say1 what is it that is ever worth our looking after1 or worthy of our regard2 when these material bodies of ours1 are as evanescent as our dreams1 and our self-existence is a mere delusion4 7,there is nothing therefore worthy of our inquiry beside the divine intellect4 ,gloss74 #ch4 ,therefore the wise man rests only in his knowledge of the true one1 by subjection of all his efforts and desires1 and quelling all his curiosity2 and being devoid of all knowledge1 save that of the knowable one4 #ci4 ,hearing all this1 ,manki was released from his great error2 as a ,snake gets loose from its slough by which it has been fast bound4 #dj4 ,he retired from there to a mountain1 on which he remained in his deep meditation for a century of years2 and discharged the duties that occurred to him of their own accord1 without his retaining any desire of any 7or expectation of fruition74 #da4 ,he resides there still1 unmoved and insensible as a stone1 quite callous in all his senses and feelings1 and wakeful with his internal sensibility by the light of his yoga contemplation4 #db4 ,now ,rma1 enjoy your peace of mind1 by relying in your habit of reasoning and discrimination2 do not deprave your understanding1 under the fits of your passion2 nor let your mind turn to its levity like a fleeting cloud1 in the unrainy season of autumn4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,superior ,,sort ,,of ,,yoga ,,meditation4 ,argument3--,mistake of the action of the ,intellect in the action of the mind1 as the cause of the phenomenal world2 and the removal of this error of the mind1 as the cause of the intellectual peace and rest in its real state4 ,vasishtha continued3--,be dead to your sensibility1 and retain the tranquility of your soul1 by conforming with whatsoever thou gettest or is meted out to thy lot2 or else the fair 7order of nature and ordinance of ,god71 will appear as foul1 as a pure crystal shows itself as black in the shade4 #b4 ,all and every thing being contained in the only one1 all extended soul1 we can not conceive how the conception of variety or multiplicity can rise from the unity4 7,to ,him no high1 no low1 no great1 no small2 ,he fills1 he bounds1 connects1 and equals all4 ,pope74 #c4 ,the category of the intellect is entirely of a vacuous nature1 and having neither its beginning nor end2 and is neither produced nor destroyed1 with the production and destruction of the body4 7,and though it is diffused all over the body and its various powers and senses1 yet there is variation of its own essence4 ,gloss74 #d4 ,all insensible and material bodies1 are moved by the miraculous power of the intellect or mind2 which being unmoved of itself gives motion to bodies1 as the still waters of the sea gives rise to the waves4 7,here the intellect is explained as the mind in the gloss74 #e4 ,as it is an error to suppose a sheet of cloth in a cloud1 so the supposition of egoism in the body1 is altogether erroneous3 7since one's personality consists in the soul and not in the person74 #f4 ,do not rely in the unreal body1 which is of this world1 and grows to perish in it2 but depend on the real essence of the endless spirit1 for thy everlasting happiness 7in both worlds74 #g4 ,the vacuous intellect1 is the essential property of the immortal soul2 this is the transcendent reality in nature1 and may this super-excellent entity be thy essence likewise4 #h4 ,if you are certain of this truth1 you become as glorious as that essence also2 because the deep meditator loses himself in the meditated object1 in his intense meditation of the same4 7,this assimilation of the triputi or triple condition of the thinker and his act and object of thought in one1 is the meaning and main end of the yoga meditation of union74 #i4 ,the triple condition of the viewer1 view and act of viewing1 are the three properties of the one and same intellect2 and there is nothing which is any other than 7or not the same with7 the knowledge thereof1 as there is no thought unlike the act of its thinking4 7,this shows the agreement of the cause1 its causation and effect74 #aj4 ,the soul is ever calm and clear and uniform in its nature1 it does not rise and fall like the tides by the lunar influence1 nor is it soiled like the sea waters by tempestuous winds4 7,the soul is ever unruffled at any event74 #aa4 ,as a passenger in a boat beholds the rocks and trees on the bank to be in motion1 and as one thinks a shell or conch to be composed of silver2 so the mind mistakes the body for reality1 7which in truth is an unreal appearance74 #ab4 ,as the sight of the material dismisses the view of the intellectual1 so doth intellectuality discard the belief of the material2 and so the knowledge of the living soul being resolved in the supreme soul1 there remains nothing at last1 except the unity of the all pervading spirit4 #ac4 ,the knowledge that all this 7world71 is quite calm and quiet 7in its nature72 and the whole is an evolution of the divine spirit1 takes away the belief in everything else1 which is naught but the product of error and illusion4 #ad4 ,as there is no forest in the sky1 nor moisture in the sands2 and as there is no fire in the disk of the moon1 so there is no material body in the sight of the mind4 7,mentally considered1 there is no matter74 #ae4 ,rma fear not for this world--the mere creation of thy error1 and without its real existence whatsoever1 know this transcendent truth1 ,o thou best amongst the inquirers of truth1 that this world is a nullity and void4 #af4 ,your mistake of the existence of the visible world1 and the disbelief which you fostered with regard to the entity of the invisible soul1 must have been removed this day by my preaching1 say now what other cause there may be of your bondage in this world4 #ag4 ,as a plate1 water-pot and any other earthenware1 is no more than the earth 7of which it is made72 so the outer world is no other than the inner thought of the mind1 and it wears away under the power of reasoning4 #ah4 ,whether exposed to danger and difficulty1 or placed in prosperity or adversity1 or betided by affluence or penury2 you must preserve1 ,o ,rma1 your even disposition amidst the consciousness 7or knowledge7 of your joy and grief2 be gladly free from the knowledge of your egoism1 and remain as you are sedate by your nature1 and without your subjection in any state4 #ai4 ,remain ,rma1 as thou art1 like the moon in the sphere of thy race1 with thy full knowledge of everything in nature2 avoid thy joy and grief at every occurrence1 and give up thy desire and disgust for anything in the world4 ,do so or as you may choose for yourself4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii4 ,,demonstrated ,,conclusion ,,of ,,the ,,doubtful ,,truth4 ,argument3--,act1 actor and action are one the same1 the word ,daiva and its explanation2 oscillation of intellect is the cause of creation4 ,rma said3--,please sir1 explain to me moreover regarding the acts of men1 which become the causes of their repeated births1 as seeds are sources of the germs of future trees2 and those to which the word daiva or divian is applied1 imply the ,divine dispensation1 destiny or fate4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the meaning of daiva or destiny1 is as that of a potter in producing the pottery2 it is the act of intelligence 7samvid71 and not of blind chance1 nor of human effort or manliness4 #c4 ,how is it possible for any action to be done by manly exertion only1 without some effort of the understanding directing human energy to action2 it is this intelligent power that makes the world and all what it contains4 #d4 ,the prosperity of the world depends on the understanding1 exerting itself with a desire to bring about some certain end2 and it ceases with the course of the course of the world1 upon the exertion of the understanding to no purpose4 #e4 ,the insouciance or want of desire in the mind1 is called its negative act1 and the mind that merely moves on without engaging in any pursuit1 is as a current stream without its undulation4 7,so mere living is no life without its action74 #f4 ,there is no difference between a thinking and unthinking soul1 unless the mind of one is actuated by its imagination1 to the invention of some manly art or work4 #g4 ,as there is no essential duality or difference in the water and its waves1 and between desire and its result2 so there is no distinction betwixt the intellect and its function1 nor is there any difference in the actions from the person of their agent4 #h4 ,know ,rma1 the action as the agent1 and the actor the same with his action2 both these are quite alike as the ice and coldness4 7i4e4 ,man is known by his act1 and the actions bespoke the man74 #i4 ,as the frost is cold and coldness the same with frost1 so the deed is the same as its doer1 and the doer is alike the deed done by him4 7,every one is accountable for his deed1 and the deed recurs to the doer of it74 #aj4 ,the vibration of the ,intellect 7i4e4 the divine will71 is the same as destiny which is also the agent of action2 these are synonymous terms expressing the same thing1 and destiny1 deed and other words have no distinct meaning4 #aa4 ,the oscillation of the intellect is the cause of creation1 as the seed is the source of the germ of a tree2 want of this vibration is productive of nothing1 wherefore intellectual activity contains in it the germinating seed of the whole world4 7i4e4 ,the action of the mind causes all things1 and its inaction is the cause of total suspense74 #ab4 ,the divine mind contains in its infinite expanse all the ample space of time and place2 and is of its own nature sometimes in its fluctuation1 and at others at a stand still like the vast ocean on earth4 #ac4 ,the causeless and uncausing seed of the intellect1 being moved by desire1 becomes cause of the minutiae of material bones1 as the seed becomes productive of its germs and sprouts4 #ad4 ,all vegetable productions as the grass and all sorts of plants and creepers1 vegetate from within their particular seeds as their origin2 and these seed originate from the pulsation of the divine mind1 which is increate and without any for it4 7,the pulsation of the divine mind is its creative will1 which is the seed or source of creation74 #ae4 ,there is no difference between the seed and its sprout1 as there is no distinction of the heat from fire2 and as you find the identity of the seed and its sprout1 so must you know the identity of man with his acts4 7i4e4 ,actions make the man1 and the man does his actions like himself74 #af4 ,the divine ,intellect exerts its power in the bosom of the earth1 and grows the sprouts of the unmoving vegetable creation as from its seed2 and these become great or small1 straight or crooked as the waves of the sea as it would have them to be4 #ag4 ,what other power is there beside that of the intellect1 to grow the sturdy oaks and arbors from the soft clay and humid moisture1 which compose the bosom of the earth8 #ah4 ,it is this ,intellect that fills the seeds of living beings with the vital fluid1 as the sappy juice abiding in the inside of plants1 gives growth to the flowers and fruits on the outside4 #ai4 ,if this all inhering intellect1 were not almighty also at the same time1 say then what other power is there1 that could produce the mighty gods and demigods in air1 and the huge mountains on earth4 #bj4 ,the divine mind contains in it the seeds of all moving and unmoving beings1 which have their being from the movement of this intellectual power1 and from no other source whatever4 #ba4 ,as there is no difference in the alternate production of the seed and the germ or fruit from one another1 so there is no difference in the commutual causation of man and his acts and the vice versa4 ,in this manner also there is no shade of difference1 betwixt the swelling waves and the sinking waters of the sea4 7,man is but a bubble of its own blowing in the vast ocean of ,eternity74 #bb4 ,fie to that silly and beastly being1 who does not believe in the reciprocality of man and his action or of the agent and the act1 by the law of mutatis mutandis inculcated in the vedas4 #bc4 ,the prurience that is inherent in one's consciousness1 is the embryonic seed of his resuscitation to life2 in the manner of the germination of plants3 it is therefore meet to render this seed abortive by frying it in the fire of inappetency4 #bd4 ,the doing of a thing with listlessness1 and the performance of an act whether good or bad without taking it to the mind1 is what is called lukewarmness by the learned4 #be4 ,or it is exemption from desire1 that is said to loosen a man from all connection2 therefore try by all means in your power1 to create in your mind a total unconcern for every one1 and indifference to all things whatsoever4 #bf4 ,in whatever manner you think it possible for you to rid of your lickerish desires1 whether by means of your theoretical or practical yoga 7the rja and hatha yogas71 or by means of your manly exertion2 you must root every desire from your heart1 in order to secure your best welfare and perfect felicity4 #bg4 ,but then you must endeavour to the utmost of your manly power1 to suppress some portion of your egoism1 in order to prevent the rise of selfish passions and desires within your health4 #bh4 ,there is no other course of fording the unfordable expanse of the world1 save by the exercise of our manly virtues2 nor is there any other way of extinguishing our ardent desires1 except by the extinction of egoism4 #bi4 ,it is the inherent consciousness of the ever existent soul1 which is both the prime seed as well as the first germ of the world2 the same is the source both of action as also of its cause and effect of the person of man4 ,it is that which is designated as destiny and the weal and woe of all4 #cj4 ,in the beginning there was no other seed nor its sprout1 nor even any man nor his action2 nor was there any such thing as destiny or doom or any other prime cause1 but all that existed was the ,supreme intellect which is all in all4 #ca4 ,there is neither any seed nor its germ in reality1 nor is there any action or its active agent de facto2 but there only one ,supreme intellect in absolute and positive existence1 and it is under the auspices of this hallowed name1 that you see ,o sage6 all these gods and demigods1 and all men and women1 are performing their respective parts as actors on the stage of the world4 #cb4 ,knowing this certain truth1 and thinking thyself as the imperishable one1 be freed from thy thoughts of the agent and action2 give up all thy desires and false imagination1 and live to reflect with thy body of self-consciousness alone4 7,consider thyself as an intellectual being1 and not the dull corporeal body74 #cc4 ,remain fearless1 ,o ,rma1 and be more graceful with the calm composure of thy mind4 ,allay all thy desires and lay aside thy fears with them4 ,rely on thy clear intellect and continue to do thy endless acts 7by guidance of the same74 ,be full in thyself with the ,supreme soul1 and thus thou shalt have the fulness of thy desires fulfilled in thee4 ,,chapter ,,xxix4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,holy ,,meditation4 ,argument3--,necessity of discharging our social duties1 as they occur unto us at any time3 and that of conducting our contemplation in solitude4 ,vasishtha continued to say3--,remain always to look inwardly in thyself1 by being freed from the feelings of passion and desire1 continue in the performance of thy actions every where1 but reflect always upon the quiet and spotless intellect within thyself4 #b4 ,the mind which is as clear as the open sky1 and is full of knowledge and settled in the divine intellect2 which is ever even and graceful and replete with joy1 is said to be highly favoured of heaven and expanded by ,brahma4 #c4 ,whether be taken by pain and grief1 or exposed to dangers and difficulties1 or attended by pleasure or prosperity1 in a greater or less degree4 #d4 ,in whatever place and in whatsoever state thou art placed1 bear with thy afflictions with an unsorrowful heart2 and whether thou weepest or criest1 or becomest a play of opposite circumstances1 be joyous in both for both are meant for thy good4 #e4 ,you are delighted in the company of your consorts1 and feel joyous at the approach of festivity and prosperity2 and it is because you are tempted like ignorant people1 by your fond desire of pleasure4 #f4 ,fools that are allured by their greediness of gain1 meet with their fate in hazardous exploits and warfare2 and it is fit that they should burn with the fire of their desire1 like straws consumed in a conflagration4 #g4 ,earn money by honest means and with the circumspection of a crane1 in whatever chance presents itself before thee2 and do not run in pursuit of gain1 like the ignorant rabble4 #h4 ,o thou destroyer of thy foes1 drive away by force all thy desires as the greatest enemies1 and as winds of heaven drive afar the rainless and empty clouds of the sky4 #i4 ,be tolerant1 ,o ,rma1 towards the ignorant people1 that are led away by their desires and deserve thy pity2 be reverent of highminded men1 and delighted in thyself by observing the taciturnity of thy speech1 and without being misled by thy desires like the ignorant mob4 #aj4 ,congratulate with joy and sympathise with sorrow1 7whether of thyself or others72 pity the sorrows of the poor1 and be valiant among the brave4 #aa4 ,turn your eyes into your heart1 and be always joyous by communing with yourself 7or soul72 and then whatever you do with a liberal mind1 you are not to answer for the same as its agent4 #ab4 ,by remaining fixed in the meditation of your soul1 and by having your eyes always turned within yourself2 you shall be invulnerable even at the stroke of a thunderbolt 7darted by the hand of ,indra74 ,so saith the sruti3--,the ,gods have no power to hurt the holy4 ,tasya hana devscha n bhtya ishate4 #ac4 ,he is said to be master of himself1 who is freed from the delusion of desire1 and lives retired in the cave of his consciousness2 who is attached to his own soul and acts at his own will1 and has his delight in his very self4 7,because says the sruti--,whoso goes out of himself1 loses his very self74 #ad4 ,no weapon can wound the self-possest man1 nor fire can chafe his soul2 no moisture can damp the spirit1 nor the hot winds can dry it up4 7,no elemental influence can prevail on the spiritual soul74 #ae4 ,lay hold on the firm pillar of your soul1 which is unborn or increate1 undecaying and immortal2 adhere steadfastly to thy soul1 as one clings to the prop or column of his house4 #af4 ,the world is an arbor1 and all things in it are as the flowers of this tree2 our knowledge of all things1 is as the fragrance of these flowers2 but our self-consciousness is the essence of them all2 therefore look internally to this inward essence before you mind the externals4 #ag4 ,all outward affairs1 are brought about by their inward reflection in the mind2 but it is as hard to bring about a desire into being1 as to raise a stone to life4 #ah4 ,get rid of your bodily exertions and lull your mind to sleep2 be doing all your duties1 as a tortoise with its contracted limbs4 7i4e4 ,act with indifference1 and without being moved74 #ai4 ,manage thine affairs with a half-sleeping and half awakened mind 7like a waking sleeper72 and do thy outward functions 7without the exertion of your mental faculties74 #bj4 ,as babes are possessed of their innate knowledge1 and dumb creatures are endowed with their instinct1 without the feeling of any desire rising in them2 so they live and act with their minds unattached to anything1 and as vacant as the empty air4 #ba4 ,remain untroubled and free from care1 with entirely sleepy and comatose mind within thyself2 a mind devoid of all its functions and quite absorbed in itself1 and slightly acting on the members of the body4 #bb4 ,you may continue to discharge or dispense with your duties altogether1 by impairing your mind with knowledge1 and resting quietly in your pure consciousness1 after it is purged from the stain of appetence4 #bc4 ,go on managing your outward affairs in your waking state1 as if your faculties were dormant in sleep2 and never hanker to have anything1 nor let go aught that presents itself to thee4 #bd4 ,if you are dormant when waking1 by your inattention to all about you2 so are you awake when sleeping by your trance in the bosom of the ,supreme soul2 and when you are in the condition of the union of the two1 you attain to the state of perfect consummation4 #be4 ,thus by your gradual practice of this habit of insouciance1 you reach to that state of unity1 which has neither its beginning nor end1 and which is beyond all other things4 #bf4 ,the world is certainly neither a unity nor duality 7but is composed of a plurality in its totality1 or the one in many ,a han ,bahushaym71 leaving therefore the inquiry into its endless varieties1 resort to your ,supreme bliss1 with a mind as clear as the translucent sphere of empty air4 #bg4 ,rma rejoined3--,if it be so1 ,o great sage6 7,that there is no ego or tu as you say71 then tell me1 why are we conscious of ourselves1 and how are you sitting here under the name of the sage ,vasishtha4 #bh4 ,valmki said3--,being thus interrogated by ,rma1 ,vasishtha the best of speakers1 remained silent for a moment1 pondering on the answer he should make4 #bi4 ,this silence of his created some anxiety in the royal audience1 and ,rma too being perplexed in his mind1 repeated his question to the sage and said3-- #cj4 ,why sir1 are you silent like myself8 ,i see there is no such argument in the world1 which sages like yourself are unable to solve and expound3-- #ca4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is not owing to my inability to speak1 nor want of argument on my part that made me hold my tongue2 but it is the wide scope of your question that withheld me from giving its answer4 7,or from answering to it74 #cb4 ,rma6 ,there are two kinds of querists1 namely1 the ignorant inquisitor and the intelligent investigator2 and so there are two modes of argumentation also for them respectively3 the simple mode for simpletons1 and the rational form for intelligent and reasonable men4 #cc4 ,you had been so long1 ,rma1 ignorant of superior knowledge1 and fit to be taught in ordinary equivocal language4 #cd4 ,but now you have become a connoisseur of superior truth1 and found your rest in the state of supreme felicity2 and are no longer to benefit by the ambiguous language of common speech4 #ce4 ,whenever a good speaker wishes to deliver an eloquent speech1 whether it be a long or short one1 or relate to some abstruse or spiritual subject 7he must satisfy himself first74 #cf4 ,the ego being the counterpart or privation of all representation1 is inexpressible by representative sounds and words2 and being beyond the predicaments of number and other categories1 is not predicable by any of them or other fiction of fancy4 ,it is the totality of all1 as light is composed of innumerable particles of ray4 #cg4 ,it is not right1 ,o ,rma1 that one who has known the truth 7the gnostic71 should give an imperfect or defective answer to a question 7proposed to him74 ,but what can he do1 when no language is perfect or free from defect1 as you know it well4 #ch4 ,it is right1 ,o ,rma1 that ,i who know the truth1 should declare it as it is to my pupils2 and the knower of abstract truth is known to remain as mute as a block of wood1 and the soundness of whose mind is hard to sound4 7,so says the ,persian mystic3--,he who has known the unknowable1 has become unknown to himself and others74 #ci4 ,it is want of self-cogitation that causes one to speak1 7i4e4 unsoundness of thought sounds in high sounding words72 but they hold their silence who know the ,supreme excellence2 and this is the best answer that is given thy inquiry into this truth4 #dj4 ,every man1 ,o ,rma1 speaks of himself as he is 7or thinks himself to be72 but ,i am only my conscious self1 which is unspeakable in its nature1 and appertains to the unbespeakable one4 #da4 ,how can that thing admit the application of a definite term to give it expression1 which is inexpressible by words 7and beyond our conception72 ,i cannot therefore express the inexpressible by words4 ,i have already said1 all are but fictitious signs3 7representative of our certain ideas74 #db4 ,rma rejoined3--,you sir1 that disregard every thing that is expressed by words1 and regard these as imperfect and defective symbols of their originals2 must tell me now1 what you mean by your 8privation of representation0 and what you are yourself4#a #dc4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it being so 7that there no determinate person expressed by the word egoism72 hear me to tell you now1 ,o ,rma1 that art the best among the enquirers of truth1 what thou art and what am ,i in truth1 and what is world in reality4 #dd4 ,this ,ego1 my boy1 is the empty intellect and imperishable in its nature2 it is neither conceivable nor knowable1 and is beyond all imagination4 #de4 ,i am the clear air of the intellect1 and so art thou the empty sky also2 the whole world is an entire vacuity1 and there is nothing else except an everlasting and infinite vacuum 7beom7 every where4 #df4 ,the soul is identic with pure knowledge1 it is free from sensational knowledge1 and beyond the conscious knowledge of others4 ,i cannot call it anything otherwise than the self or soul4 #dg4 ,yet it is the fashion of disputants in order to maintain their own ground1 or for the salvation of their pupils to multiply the egoism of the one soul1 and to distribute it into a thousand branches4 #dh4 ,when a living soul remains calm and quiet notwithstanding the management of its worldly affairs2 and is as motionless as a living carcass1 it is said to have attained its perfect state4 #di4 ,this state of perfection consists in refraining from external exercise and devotion1 and persistence in continual meditation2 feeling no sensation of pain or pleasure1 and being unconscious of one's self-existence1 and the co-existence of all others besides4 #ej4 ,freedom from egoism and the consciousness of all other existence1 brings on the idea of a total inexistence and emptiness1 which is altogether beyond thought and meditation4 7,for none can think of a nothing74 ,all attempt to grasp a nullity1 is as vain as a blind man's desire to see a picture4 #ea4 ,the posture of sitting unmoved as a stone1 at the shocks and turn backs 7or drakes and ducks7 of fortune2 is verily the state of nirvna or deathless coma of a sensible being4 7,the figures of saints are as unmoved as statues74 #eb4 ,this state of saintly anaesthesia is not marked by others1 nor perceived by the saint himself2 because the knowing sage shuns the society of men in disgust1 and is enlightened with his spiritual knowledge within himself4 #ec4 ,in this state of spiritual light1 the sage loses sight of his egoism and tuism and all others and beholds the only one unity1 in which he is extinct and absorbed in pure and unsullied felicity4 #ed4 ,it is the intellection of the intellect1 that is said to be conversant with the intelligibles 7or the operation of the subjective soul on the objective72 this is the cause of the creation of the world1 which is the cause of our bondage and continual woes 7in our repeated births and deaths74 #ee4 ,it is said to be the dormancy or insensibility of intellection1 when it is not employed about the intelligible objects2 it is then called the supremely calm and quiet state of liberation 7both for thought and action72 and is free from decay4 #ef4 ,the soul being in its state of peaceful tranquility1 its ideas of space and time fly from it like clouds in autumn2 and then it has no thought of anything else for want of its power of thinking4 #eg4 ,when the sight of the soul is turned inwards 7antar mukha7 as in sleep1 it sees the world of its desires rising before its consciousness in their aerial forms2 but ,o ye princes1 the sight of the soul being directed to the outside 7bahir mukha71 as in its waking state1 it views the inward objects of his desire1 presented before its sight in the gross forms of the outer world4 7,this passage shows the contrariety of the spiritual philosophy to the material2 the former maintaining the material world to be a shadow of the ideal1 and the latter asserting the intellectual as a representation of the visible world74 #eh4 ,the mind1 understanding and the other faculties1 depend upon the consciousness of the soul1 and are of the same nature as the intellect2 but being considered in their intimate relation with external objects bahir-mukhat1 they are represented as grossly material4 7,in the doctrines of materialist--the snkhya and others74 #ei4 ,the self-same intellect being spread over our consciousness1 of all internal and external feelings and perceptions2 it is in vain to differentiate this one and undivided power1 by the several names 7of spiritual1 mental1 and bodily faculties74 #fj4 ,there is nothing which is set apart1 from the percipience of the conscious intellect2 which is as pure and all-pervading as the empty vacuum1 and which is said by the learned to be undefinable by words4 7,so says the sruti3--,no speech can approach to it74 #fa4 ,being seen very acutely1 the world appears as hazy in the divine essence1 as it were something between a reality and unreality2 and so dost thou appear to sight1 as something real and unreal at the sametime4 7,all things appear as evanescent shadows in the clear mirror of the ,divine ,mind74 #fb4 ,so am ,i the empty air1 if can be free from desire2 and so also art thou the pure intellect1 if thou canst but restrain thy desires4 #fc4 ,he who is certain of this truth 7that he is the intellect71 knows himself in reality2 but whoso thinks himself as somebody under a certain appellation1 is far from knowing the truth4 ,again anyone remaining in his unreal body1 but relying in his intellectuality1 is sure to have his tranquility and salvation4 7,so the sruti3--,anyone awakened to truth is sure to be saved1 whether he is a ,god1 rishi or sage1 or a vile man74 #fd4 ,man's exercise of the intellectual faculty1 ameliorates the love of union with the original intellect by removing the ignorance2 as heat of the fire mixes with the primitive heat1 when wind ceases to blow4 #fe4 ,living beings who are converted to the state of patient trees and stones1 by insouciance or insensibility of themselves1 are said to have attained their liberation which is free from disturbance1 and to be situated in their state of undecayableness4 #ff4 ,a man having obtained his wisdom by means of his knowledge1 is said to have become a mun or sage1 but growing an ignoramus owing to his ignorance1 he becomes a brute creature1 or degraded even lower to some vegetable life4 #fg4 ,the knowledge that 8,i am ,brahma0 7because ,i am a man7 and this other is the world 7because it is inanimate7 is a gross error proceeding from gross ignorance2 but all untruth flies away before investigation1 as darkness vanishes before the advance of light4 #fh4 ,he is wise who with the perception and actions of his outward organs1 is simply devoid of his inward desires2 who does not think or feel about anything in his mind1 and remains quite calm and composed in his outward appearance4 #fi4 ,the samdhi-trance of a wise man1 is as his sound sleep uninfested by a dream2 and wherein the visibles are all buried within himself1 and when he sees naught but his self or soul4 #gj4 ,as the blueness of the sky is a false conception of the brain1 so the appearance of the world is a fallacy of the silent soul2 they are no more than mists of error1 that obscure the clear and vacuous sphere of the soul4 #ga4 ,he is the true sage who though surrounded by the objects of wish1 is still undesirous of any2 and knows them all as mere unrealities and false vanities4 #gb4 ,know1 ,o intelligent ,rma1 that all objects of desire in this world1 are as marvellous as those seen in our imagination1 dream and in the magic of jugglers2 such also are all the objects of our vision1 on which you can place no trust nor reliance4 #gc4 ,know also1 there is no pain or pleasure1 nor any act of merit or demerit 7i4e4 any moral virtue and vice72 nor anything which anybody1 owing to the impossibility of there being any agent or patient 7i4e4 any active or passive agent74 #gd4 ,the whole 7universe7 is a vacuum and without any support at all2 it appears as a secondary moon in the sky or a city in one's dream or imagination1 none of which has its reality in nature4 #ge4 ,abide only by the rules of the community1 or observe strictly thy mute taciturnity2 and by remaining as a block of wood or stone1 be absolved in the ,supreme4 #gf4 ,the tranquility and intellectuality of the ,supreme deity1 do not admit of any diversity in his nature2 and his incorporeality does not admit of the attribution1 of a body or any of its parts unto him4 #gg4 ,there can be no nature whatever1 whereof we have any conception1 that can be attributed to the pure spirit 7which is free from all stain and foulness72 and this ,divine spirit being inherent in all bodies1 there can be no body for its nature ever imputed to him4 #gh4 ,the existence of consciousness in the uncreated spirit1 or in other words1 the existence of a self-conscious eternal ,intellect1 cannot be denied of ,god2 according to sophistry of ,atheists2 for though our knowledge of recipient and received 7i4e4 of the container and contained7 is very imperfect1 yet there is some one at the bottom that is ever perfect4 #gi4 ,o ,rma6 do you rely in that increate and indestructible ,supreme being1 which is ever the same and pure1 irrefutable and adored by the wise and good2 it is the irrefutable 7i4e4 demonstrable7 verity1 on which you should quietly depend for your liberation4 ,and though you may eat and drink and play about like all others1 yet you must know that all this is nothing4 ,,chapter ,,xxx4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,spirituality4 ,argument3--,removal of the ,error of plurality arising from the conviction of ,egoism1 and inoculation of spiritual knowledge for ,reunion of the soul with the ,divine ,spirit4 ,vasishtha continued3--,egoism is the greatest ignorance1 and an insuperable barrier in the way of our ultimate extinction2 and yet are foolish people seen to pursue fondly after their final felicity with their egoistic efforts1 which is no better than the attempt of madman4 #b4 ,egoism is the sure indicator of the ignorance of unwise people1 and no cool-headed and knowing man is ever known in his egoship or the persuasion of his self-agency4 7,but this an article of the ,christian creed74 #c4 ,the wise and knowing man1 whether he is embodied or liberated state1 renounces the dross of his egotism1 and relies in the utter extinction or nullity of himself1 which is as pure and clear as the empty vacuity of heaven1 and free from trouble and anxiety 7which await on self-knowledge and selfish activities in general74 #d4 ,the autumnal sky is serene and clear1 and so are the waters of the calm and unperturbed sea2 the disk of the full-moon is fair and bright1 but none of these is so cool and calm and full of light1 as the face of the wise and knowing sage1 7shining with the radiance of truth and holy light74 #e4 ,the features of the sage and wise1 are ever as sedate and steady1 even in the midst of business and trifles2 as the figures of warriors in battle array in a painting1 even when engaged in the bustle of warfare and fury of fight4 #f4 ,all worldly thoughts and desires are nothing to the anaesthetic spirit of the self-extinct sage 7in his nirvna72 they are as imperceptible as the slender lines in a painting1 and as lean as the rippling curls on the surface of the sea1 which are not distinct and disjoined from its waters4 #g4 ,as the rolling waves of the sea1 are no other than its heaving water1 so the visible phenomena in the world1 are no other than the spirit of ,brahma disporting in itself4 #h4 ,hence the soul that is undisturbed by the wave like perturbations1 and is calm and quiet both in the inside and outside of it as the still ocean1 and which is raised above temporal matters in its holy devotion1 is said to be freed from all worldliness4 #i4 ,the ego rises of itself as an uncreated thing1 and in the form of consciousness in the all comprehensive intellect of ,god1 just as the waves rise and fall in the waters of the deep1 and have no difference in their nature4 #aj4 ,as the rising smoke exhibits in the sky1 the various forms of forts1 warcars and elephants2 and as none of them1 is any other than the self-same smoke2 so are all these phenomena and notions1 noway different from the nature of their ,divine origin 7but mere evolutions or vivartarpas of the same74 #aa4 ,by considering the fallacy of your consciousness 7of the ego71 you will1 ,o ye my royal hearers1 get rid of your error2 and then you will exult in your knowledge of truth1 and be victorious 7over yourself74 ,do not despair1 for ye are wise enough to know the truth4 #ab4 ,as the growing sprout conceives in it1 the would be tree with all its future flowers and fruits2 so the ignorant man conceives in his vacant mind1 the false ideas of himself--his soul1 his ego and of everything else according to its fancy4 #ac4 ,the conceptions of the mind are as false as the sight of things1 such as the sight of a rod in a rising flame1 7and that of a circle in the twirling of a lighted torch74 ,and though the presiding soul is always true1 yet these thoughts of the mind are as untrue as its fancy of fairies in the orb of the moon4 #ad4 ,now my royal hearers1 do you continue to enjoy your peace1 by considering at your pleasure1 about the rise1 end and continuance of the world2 and remain from disease in all places and times4 #ae4 ,conduct yourselves with calmness1 in whatever turns to be favourable or unfavourable to you2 for unless you deport yourselves as dead bodies1 you cannot perceive the felicity of your final extinction--nirvna or hebetude4 7,be as a dead man1 in order to taste the bliss of your spiritual deadness74 #af4 ,he who lives long in this world1 by giving up his egoism and egoistic desires from his mind2 and renounces the animality of his life to live and lead an intellectual life1 attains verily the state of ,supreme felicity4 #ag4 ,living the animal life 7for the gratification of carnal appetites71 leads only to the bearing of woes and misery2 and men thus bound by the chain of their animal desires1 are as big boats1 burdened with loads of their ballast and cargo4 #ah4 ,they are never blest with liberation1 who are strangers to reasoning and addicted to the gross thoughts of ignorance2 for how is it possible to obtain in this life1 what is attainable only by the deceased in the next world4 7,this means the disembodied liberation--,videha mukti1 which is to be had after one's death74 #ai4 ,whatever a man fancies in this life1 and desires to have in the next1 7as his hopes of heavenly rewards72 he dies with the same and finds them in his future life2 but where there is no such fancy1 desire or hope1 that is truly the state of everlasting bliss4 #bj4 ,therefore be fearless with the thought of there being no such thing1 as yourself or any one else 7that you may believe as a real entity72 by knowing this truth1 you will find this poisonous world1 turn to a paradise to you4 7,think of nothing1 and you will have no fear for anything74 #ba4 ,examine your whole material body1 as composed of your outer frame and the inner mind2 and say in what part you find your egoism to be situated2 if no where1 then own the truth of your having no ego any where4 #bb4 ,seeing all and every part of it up to the seat of your egoism1 and finding it to be seated no where2 you see only an open space 7which is identic with the soul71 and whereof no part is ever lost or destroyed4 #bc4 ,in this 7attainment of liberation7 you are required to do no more1 than to exert your manliness in relinquishing your enjoyments1 cultivating your reasoning powers1 and governing yourself by subduing the members of your body and mind4 ,therefore1 ye ignorant men1 that are desirous of your liberation1 delay no longer to practice the government of yourselves 7by shunning everything that relates not to yourselves74 #bd4 ,the learned explain liberation to consist in the meditation of ,god1 without any desire of the heart or duplicity in the mind2 and this they say is not possible to do1 without the assistance of spiritual knowledge4 ,but the world being full of error1 it is requisite to derive this knowledge from spiritual works moksha sstras1 or else it is very likely to be entrapped in the very many snares1 which are for ever set all about this earth4 #be4 ,knowing full well the unreality of the world1 and the uncertainty of one's self and body1 and of his friends1 family and wealth and possessions2 whoso is distrustful of them and identifies himself with his intelligence and pure vacuity1 verily finds his liberation in this1 and in no other state whatsoever4 ,,chapter ,,xxxi4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,means ,,of ,,attaining ,,the ,nirvna ,,extinction4 ,argument3--,refutation on the falsity of imagination1 and the ideal creation of the world2 establishing the true ,god1 who is all in all1 and who remains ever the same4 ,vasishtha said3--,he who has devoted his whole soul to the contemplation of the ,intellect1 and feels the same stirring within himself1 and knows in his mind the vanity and unreality of all worldly things1 7is the person whose soul is said to be extinct in the deity74 #b4 ,by habituating himself to this sort of meditation1 and seeing the outward objects in his perceptive soul1 he views the external world1 as an appearance presenting before him in his dream4 #c4 ,all this is verily the form of the ,intellect1 represented in a different garb4 ,the intellect is rarer than the pure air1 but collects and condenses itself as the solid world1 and recognizes itself as such2 wherefore the world is no other than the consolidated intellect1 and there is nothing beside this anywhere4 #d4 ,it has no dissolution or decay1 nor it has its birth or death2 it is neither vacuity nor solidity1 it is neither extension nor tenuity1 but it is all and the ,supreme one and nothing in particular4 #e4 ,nothing is lost by the loss of egoism1 and of this world also2 the loss of an unreality is no loss at all1 as the loss of anything in our dream1 is attended with loss of nothing4 #f4 ,nothing is lost at the loss of an imaginary city1 which is altogether a falsity2 so nothing is destroyed by the destruction of our egoism and this unreal world4 #g4 ,whence is our perception of the world1 but from a nullity2 and if it is granted as such1 then there is nothing that can be predicated of it1 any more than that of a flower growing in the air 7which is a nullity74 #h4 ,the conclusion arrived at last after mature thought in respect to this is1 that you must remain as you are and as firm as a rock in the state in which you are placed1 and in the conduct appertaining to your own station in life4 #i4 ,the world is the creation of thy fancy as thou wishest it to be1 and there are the peculiar duties attached to thy station in all thy wonderings through life2 but all these cease at once at the moment 7of your divine meditation71 and this is the conclusion arrived at 7by the joint verdict of the sstras74 7,every one cuts his own course in life1 which ceases no sooner he thinks of its nihility4 ,so it is said3--do thy duties till thy death but the thought of thy living in death1 puts a stop to thy course all at once4 ,sanchintya mrituyncha tamugra dantang1 sarvey projutn shithil vabanti74 #aj4 ,all this is inevitable and unavoidable in life1 and is avoided only by divine meditation2 in which case the whole creation vanishes into nothing1 and there is no more any trace of it left behind4 7i4e4 ,in a future life or transmigration74 #aa4 ,the unholy souls that view the creation1 appearing before them like the dreams of sleeping men2 are called sleeping souls1 which behold the world rising before them1 like the waving waters in a mirage4 #ab4 ,those who consider the unreality 7of the world7 as a reality1 we know not what to speak of them1 than with regard to the offspring of barren women4 7i4e4 the impossibility of the existence of either of them74 #ac4 ,the souls of those that have known the true ,god1 are as full as the ocean with heavenly delight2 because they do not look upon the visible objects1 nor do the visible ever fall under sight or notice4 #ad4 ,they remain as calm as the still air1 and as sedate as the unshaking flame of a lamp2 and they continue to be quite at ease both as they are employed or unemployed in action4 #ae4 ,as a minute atom makes a mountain1 so the atomic heart becomes full when it is employed in business2 and yet the cold-heartedness of the wise seer1 continues the same as ever before4 7i4e4 ,the mind of the wise man1 is not ruffled by the bustle of business74 #af4 ,the wish makes the man1 though it is not seen by anyone2 it is the cause of the world 7worldly affairs71 though it is not perceived by any body4 7,the wish being master to the thought--the master of action74 #ag4 ,what is done by oversight or in ignorance1 is undone or foiled by sight or knowledge of it2 as for instance the thefts and other wicked acts1 which are carried on in the darkness1 disappear from sight before the blaze of daylight4 #ah4 ,all beings composed of the fleshy body and the five elemental substances1 are altogether unreal as the gross productions of error only2 and so are the understanding1 mind1 egoism and other mental faculties1 of the same nature and not otherwise4 #ai4 ,leaving aside both the elemental and mental parts and properties of your body1 you attain to the purely intellectual state of your soul1 which is called to be your liberation4 #bj4 ,attachment to the intellect and adherence to the intellectual thoughts1 being once secured there will be end to the view of visibles1 and there will be no more any appearance of fancy in the mind1 nor any desire or craving rising in the heart4 #ba4 ,but who has fallen into the error of taking the visibles for true1 his sight of the unreal prevents his coming to the view of the true reality2 and he finds at the end1 that the visible world is but a mirage1 and is never faithful to any body at any place4 #bb4 ,so he finds the falsity of the world1 whose soul has risen to its enlightenment within himself2 but who ever happens to have the remembrance of the world in him1 he comes to fall to the error of its reality again4 #bc4 ,therefore avoid your reliance in all worldly objects1 and rely only on one who is simply as mere vacuum2 and mind that is good you not to remember the world any more1 and that your forgetfulness of it altogether is best for you4 #bd4 ,in your forgetfulness of the world you will find nothing to be seen or enjoyed in it1 and nothing of its entity or nullity whatsoever2 it is as well as it is all quiet and still as the calm and unruffled ocean for ever4 #be4 ,the whole visible world is ,brahma himself1 and as such1 the ocean of it is to be understood as a positive reality2 it is a bubble in ,his eternity1 which is all quiet and calm after immersion of bubbles and waves4 #bf4 ,meek and tolerant men1 are seen to be sedate and dispassionate in their worldly transaction2 and to be resigned to the ,supreme spirit in their souls4 7,blessed are the meek1 for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven74 #bg4 ,or the saint whose soul is extinct in his god1 has only his meekness remaining in him2 and being devoid of all desire1 he is unfit for all worldly concerns4 7,it is hard to attend equally to one's secular and spiritual concerns74 #bh4 ,as long as one is not perfect in the extinction of his soul in the deity1 he may be employed in the practice of his secular duties1 by being devoid of passions1 animosity and fear of any one4 7,this is enjoined for a devotee1 till he reaches the seventh stage of his devotion74 #bi4 ,the saint being freed from his passions and feelings of anger and fear and other affections1 and getting the tranquility of nirvna extinction in his mind1 becomes as frigid as snow and remains as a block of stone forever4 #cj4 ,as the pericarp contains the seed of the future flower in it1 so the saint has all his thoughts and desires quite concealed in his inmost soul1 and never gives any vent to them on the outside4 #ca4 ,the mind wanders on the outside by thinking about the outer world1 and so is it confined within itself by its meditation on the inner soul2 such is the contemplation of the ,supreme being1 either as he is thought of or seen in spirit in the inner soul1 or viewed himself to be displayed in his works of creation in the outer world4 7,the spiritual and natural adoration of ,god74 #cb4 ,the outer world is no other than an external representation of the delusive dream1 which is in the inside of ourselves2 there is not the slightest difference between them1 as there is none in the same milk1 contained in two different pots only4 #cc4 ,the motion or inertness and the fickleness or steadiness of the one or other of them1 are no more than the effects of our lengthened delusion2 and the state of one being the container of the other1 makes no difference in them1 as there is none between the containing ocean and the waves it contains4 #cd4 ,the dreams that we see in sleep1 are no other than operations of the mind1 though they are supposed in our ignorance to be quite apart from ourselves4 #ce4 ,he that remains in the manner of the ,supreme soul1 quite calm and tranquil and free from all fancy and desires1 becomes 7extinct in7 the very soul1 by thinking himself as such2 but he never becomes so unless he thinks himself to be as so2 7,hence the formula of daily meditation soham1 8,i am he01 tman bramatvena sambhavan74 #cf4 ,the divine state is that of the perfect stillness of the soul 7as in sound sleep71 when there is not even a dream stirring in the mind2 but what that state is or is not1 is incomprehensible in the mind1 and inexpressible in words4 7,it is1 because we know it in our consciousness and it is not1 because we know it not by the predicaments of space and time1 and those of the container1 contained1 or any other category whatsoever74 #cg4 ,yet is this state made intelligible to us by instructions of our preceptors1 and by means of the entire removal of our error as well as by our intense meditation of it2 else there is no body to tell us what it really is4 7,the sstras tell us1 what it is not2 by their dogmas neti neti and tanna tanna2 but never say a word about its real nature as idamasti74 #ch4 ,it is therefore proper for you to remain entirely extinct in the external one and tranquil as the ,divine spirit by giving up all your fear and pride1 your griefs and sorrows1 and your covetousness and all errors besides4 ,you must forsake with these the dullness of your heart and mind1 as also of your body and all its members1 together with the sense of your egoism and the distinctions of things from the one perfect unity4 7,knowing that 8all are but parts of the one undivided whole074 ,,chapter ,,xxxii4 ,,sermon ,,inculcating ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,truth4 ,argument3--,liberation depends on self-exertion2 and upon good company1 study of good books1 and the habit of reasoning4 ,vasishtha continued3--,soon as intellection commences to act1 it is immediately attended by egoism--the cause of the erroneous conception of the world2 and this introduces a train of unrealities1 as the stirring of air causes the blowing of winds4 7,it means to say that being misguided by avidy or ignorance1 we are liable to fall into all sorts of error74 #b4 ,but when intellection is directed by vidy or reason1 its fallacy of the reality of the world1 does not affect us in any manner1 if we but reflect it as a display of ,brahma himself1 7that he is all in all72 but we are liable to great error1 by thinking the phenomenal world as distinct from ,him4 #c4 ,as the opening of the eyes receives the sight of external appearance1 the opening of intellection doth in like manner receive the erroneous notion of the reality of the phenomenal world4 #d4 ,what appears on the outside1 being quite distinct from the nature of the inner intellect1 cannot be a reality as the other2 and therefore this unreal show is no more1 than the dancing of a barren woman's boy before one's eyes4 7,which is nothing74 #e4 ,the intellect is perceived by its conception of the notions of things1 but when we consider the fallacy of its conceptions1 and its notion of the unreal as real1 it appears to us as a delusion like the appearance of a ghost to boys4 #f4 ,our egoism also is for our misery1 from the knowledge that 8,i am such a one20 but by ignoring 7or the want of7 this knowledge of myself1 that ,i am not this or that1 loosens me from my bondage to it4 ,therefore ,i say1 that our bondage and liberation1 are both dependant on our own option4 7,but as the innate consciousness of the self or ego is impossible to ignore1 yet it is possible to every body1 to ignore his being any particular person whatsoever74 #g4 ,therefore the meditation which is accompanied with self-extinction and forgetfulness of one's self1 and the remaining of the moving and quick in the manner of the quiet and dead1 is the calm tranquility of holy saints1 which ever the same1 unaltered and without decay4 #h4 ,therefore1 ye wise men1 do not trouble yourself as the unwise with the discrimination of unity and duality1 and the propriety or impropriety of speech1 all which is wholly useless and painful frivolity4 #i4 ,the covetous man with his thickening desires1 meets with a train of ideal troubles1 gathering as thickly about him1 as the thronging dreams assailing his head at night4 ,these proceeding from his fondness of outward and visible objects1 and from the fond desires inwardly cherished within his heart1 grow as thickly upon him as the creation of his wild fancy4 #aj4 ,but the meek man of moderate desire1 remains dormant in his waking state 7as a waking sleeper72 and does not feel the pain or fear the pangs of his real evils1 by being freed from his hankering after temporary objects4 #aa4 ,hence the desire being moderated and brought under proper bounds1 bears resemblance even to our freedom from its bonds2 as we get rid of our once intense thought of something1 by our neglect of it in course of time and changing events4 #ab4 ,the entire curtailment of desires1 is sure to be attended with liberation2 as the total disappearance of frost and clouds from the sky1 leaves the empty vacuum to view4 #ac4 ,the means of abating our desires1 is the knowledge of ego as ,brahma himself 7and particular person or soul72 and this knowledge leads to one's liberation1 as study of science and association with the wise1 serve to convert ignorant men to sapience and knowledge4 #ad4 ,in my belief there is no other ego but the one ,supreme ego1 and this belief is enough to bring men to the right understanding of themselves1 and make their living souls quite calm and tranquil1 and dead to the sense of their personality and self-existence4 #ae4 ,the world appears as a duality or something distinct from the unity of ,god1 just as the motion of the wind seems to be something else beside the wind itself1 or the breathing as another thing than the breath2 but this fallacy of dualism will disappear upon reflection of 8how ,i or any thing else could be something of itself0 7and unless it proceeded from the ,one everlasting unity74 #af4 ,that ,i am nothing is what is meant by extinction1 and why then remain ignorant 7of this simple truth72 go1 associate with the wise and argue with them1 and you will so come to learn it 7i4e4 this truth74 #ag4 ,it is in the company of those who are acquainted with truth1 that you loosen the bonds of your worldly errors2 just as darkness is dispelled by light1 and the night recedes from before the advancing of the day4 #ah4 ,make it the duty of your whole life1 to argue with the learned1 concerning such like topics1 as 8what am ,i10 and what are these visible objects2 what is life and what this living soul1 and how and whence they come into existence4 #ai4 ,the world is seen to be full of animal life1 and ,i find my egoism is lost in it2 the truth of all this is learnt in a moment in the society of the learned1 therefore betake thyself to the company of those luminaries of truth4 #bj4 ,resort one by one to all those that are wiser than thee in the knowledge of truth1 and by investigation into their different doctrines1 the spectre of your controversy 7i4e4 error71 will disappear for ever4 7,because the maxim says1 8as many heads so many minds1 and as many mouths so many verdicts01 therefore examine them all and glean the truth74 #ba4 ,as the spectre of controversy rises before the learned1 in the manner of an apparition appearing before boys2 so the error of egoism rises before them1 in their attempt to maintain their respective arguments4 #bb4 ,let therefore the diligent inquirer after truth1 attend separately to the teaching of every professor of particular doctrines2 and then taking them together1 let him consider in his own mind1 the purport of their several preachings4 #bc4 ,let him weigh well in his own mind1 the meanings of their several sayings1 for the sharpening of his own reasoning1 and accept the doctrine which is free from the flights of imagination and all earthly views4 #bd4 ,having sharpened your understanding by associating with the wise1 do you cut short the growth of the plant of your ignorance by degrees1 and by little and little 7lit4--bit by bit74 #be4 ,i tell you to do so1 because ,i know it is possible to you to do so2 we tell you boys1 accordingly as we have well known anything1 and never speak what is improper or impracticable to you4 #bf4 ,as the gathering or dispersion of the clouds in the sky1 and the rising and sinking of the breakers in the sea1 is no gain or loss to either1 so the attainment or bereavement of any good whatever1 is of no concern to the unconcerned sage or saint4 #bg4 ,all this is as false as the appearance of water in the mirage1 while our reliance in the everlasting and all pervading ,one1 is as firm1 secure and certain 7as our supportance on a solid rock74 ,by reasoning rightly in yourself1 you will discover your egoism to be nowhere2 how and whence then do you beget this false phantom of your imagination4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,true ,,sense ,,of ,,truth4 ,argument3--,causes of erroneous conceptions and false ,imagination1 our hankering for the future world and its remedy4 ,vasishtha continued3--,rma1 if a man will not gain his wisdom by his own exertion1 by his own reasoning and by the development of his understanding in the company of good men1 then there is no other way to it4 #b4 ,if one will try to remove his mis-apprehensions and the false creations of his imagination1 by the prescribed remedies of the sstras1 he will succeed to change and rectify them himself1 as they remove or remedy one poison by means of a counter poison4 #c4 ,all fancies and desires are checked by unfancying them1 and this unfancifulness or undesirousness is the cause of liberation1 by relinquishment of worldly enjoyment1 which is the first step to it4 7,so says the sruti3--,renunciation of enjoyments1 is the leader to liberation74 #d4 ,first consider well the meanings of words1 both in your mind and utterance of them2 and all the habitual and growing misconceptions will slowly cease and subside of themselves4 #e4 ,there is no greater error or ignorance in one's self1 except the sense of his egoism2 and this error having subsided by one's disregard of its accepted sense1 it is not far from him to arrive at his liberation4 #f4 ,if you have the least reliance in your body and egoism1 you surely lose the infinite joy of your unbounded soul2 but by forsaking the feeling of your egoism or personality1 you are freed from the bondage of your fondness for anything of this world1 and become perfected in divine knowledge and blissfulness4 #g4 ,it is from want of understanding1 that all these unrealities appear as real to the ignorant2 but we venerate and bow down to the sage1 who remains unmoved as a stone at all this4 #h4 ,who from want of his sense of external objects1 remains as cold as a stone1 and being reclined in the ,supreme spirit by the meditation of the ,divine ,mind in his own mind2 sees but an empty void both within and all around himself4 7,this is called perfect liberation of the soul74 #i4 ,whether there be or not be all these visibles1 they tend alike to our misery2 it is our thoughtlessness of them alone that conduces to our happiness1 wherefore it is better to remain insensible of them1 by shutting our senses against them4 7,our happiness or misery does not depend on the presence or absence of things1 but upon our disregard of or concern for them74 #aj4 ,there are two very serious diseases waiting on mankind1 in their cares for this as well as those of the next world2 and both of these are attended with intolerable pains to the patients of both their temporal as well as spiritual maladies4 #aa4 ,in this world the intelligent are seen to try all their best medicines in vain1 to remove their inveterate diseases of hunger and thirst1 by means of their remedies of food and drink1 during the whole period of their lives2 but there is no remedy whatever for to heal their spiritual maladies of sin and vile1 and avert their inevitable fate of death and rebirths in endless succession4 #ab4 ,the best sort of men are trying to heal their spiritual maladies1 and avert their future fate1 by means of the ambrosial medicines of dispassionateness1 keeping good company and improvement of their understanding4 #ac4 ,those who are careful to cure their spiritual complaint1 become successful to get their riddance1 by means of their desire of getting better1 and by virtue of the best medicine of abstinence and refraining from evil4 7,gloss4 apathya tyga c474 #ad4 ,whoever does not heal even now his deadly disease of sin1 which is his leader to hell fire on future2 let him say what remedy is left for him to try1 after he has gone to the next world1 where there is no balsam to heal the sickly soul4 #ae4 ,try all earthly medicines to preserve your life1 from being wasted away by earthly diseases2 and keep your souls entire for the next world1 by the healing balm of spiritual knowledge in this life4 #af4 ,this life is but a breath1 alikens a tremulous dew drop1 hanging at the end of a shaking leaf1 and ready to fall down2 but your future life is long1 and enduring under all its variations1 therefore heal it for the everlasting futurity4 #ag4 ,by carefully attending to the treatment of spiritual diseases at present1 you will not only be hale and holy in your soul in the next world1 but evade all the diseases of this life1 which will fly off afar from you4 #ah4 ,know thy conscious soul as an animalcule1 which evolves itself into the form of this vast world2 just as an atom contains a huge mountain in it1 which evolves from its bosom in time4 #ai4 ,as the evolution of your consciousness1 presents to your view the forms that you have in your mind 7i4e4 ideals72 so doth the phenomenon of the world appear in the womb of vacuum1 and is no more real than a false phantasy4 #bj4 ,notwithstanding the repeated deluge and destruction of the visible earth1 there is no change nor end of the false phantom of our mind1 where its figure is neither destroyed nor resuscitated1 owing to its being a phantasy only and no reality whatever4 7,it is possible to destroy the form of a1 but not its idea in the mind74 #ba4 ,should you like to lift up your soul1 from the muddy pit of earthly pleasures and desires1 wherein it drowned forever2 you must put forth your manly virtues1 as the only means to this end1 and without which there is no other4 #bb4 ,the man of ungoverned mind and soul1 is a dull-headed fool1 and fallen in the miry pit of carnal desires2 he becomes the receptacle of all kinds of danger and difficulty1 as the bed of the sea is the reservoir of all the waters falling to it4 #bc4 ,as boyhood is the first stage of the life of a man1 and introduces the other ages for perfection of human nature2 so the first step to one's self-extinction1 is the renunciation of his carnal enjoyments1 conducing to the subjection of passions4 #bd4 ,the stream of the life of a wise man1 is ever flowing onward with the undulations of events1 without overflowing its banks or breaking its bounds2 and resembles a river drawn in a picture1 which is flowing without the current of its waters4 #be4 ,the course of the lives of ignorant people1 runs with tremendous noise1 like the precipitate current of rivers2 it rolls onward with dangerous whirlpools1 and flows on with its rising and setting billows 7till it mixes with the sea of eternity74 #bf4 ,continuous creations and course of events1 are transpiring with the succession of our thoughts2 and appearing before us like the illusive train of our dreams1 and the false appearance of two moons in the sky1 and the delusion of mirage and apparitions rising to the sight of children4 #bg4 ,so the incessant waves raised by the undulating waters of our consciousness1 appears as the endless chain of created objects1 rising in reality to our view2 but being taken into mature consideration1 they will appear to be as false and unreal1 as they seem true and real to our erroneous apprehension of them4 #bh4 ,it is said that are worlds and the cities of ,gandharvas and ,siddhas1 contained in the concavity of the firmament1 and it is supposed also that1 the cavity of the sky is a reservoir of waters2 but all these are but creations of the mind1 and there no such things in reality4 #bi4 ,the worlds are as bubbles of water1 in the ocean of the conscious mind2 they are only the productions of the fanciful mind1 and no such things1 as they are thought to be2 and the idea of ego1 is but forms of our varying thoughts4 #cj4 ,the expansion of consciousness is the course of unfolding the world1 and the closing of it conceals the phenomenals from view2 therefore these appearances are neither in the inside nor outside of us2 and they are neither realities1 nor altogether unreal also 7but effects of the opening and shutting of our minds only74 #ca4 ,there is one thing alone of the form of the intellect1 which is unborn and unknown 7in its true nature71 and is the undecaying 7i4e4 everlasting7 lord of all2 it is devoid of substance and property1 and is called ,brahma or immensity1 and tranquil spirit1 which is as quiet and calm as the infinite void1 are rarer than even the empty atmosphere4 #cb4 ,there is no cause whatever1 which can be reasonably assigned to the agitation1 consciousness and creations of the spirit of ,brahma2 which being above nature is said to have no nature at all4 ,its agitation is as that of the air2 whose cause is beyond all conception4 #cc4 ,brahma has his thoughts rising in him1 as waves in the ocean of himself1 and as our consciousness of the dreams rising in our soul2 and the nature of this creation is in reality1 neither as that of his dream1 or the wave produced from his essence4 7,it is hard to say1 whether this is a thought of himself as a dream1 or a part of him like a wave74 #cd4 ,this much therefore can only be said of him that1 there is only an unknowable unity1 which is ever the same and never as quick as thought1 nor even as dull as matter2 it is not a reality or unreality1 nor any thing this positive or negative4 7,in a word1 it is nothing that conceivable by the human mind74 #ce4 ,the ,yogi that remains in this insouciant state of ,brahma1 and insensible of his own consciousness 7i4e4 who is inexcitable both in his body and mind71 such a person is said to be the best of sages and saints4 #cf4 ,who becomes inactive and inert as a clod of earth1 even while he is alive2 who becomes unconscious of himself and the outer world1 and thinks of nothing 7except the ,supreme soul72 he is said as the best of sages and saints4 #cg4 ,as we lose sight of wished for objects1 by ceasing to wish for them 7such as the sights of fairy lands c472 so we get rid of our knowledge of ourselves and the world1 by our ceasing to think about them 7by confining our thoughts in ,god alone74 #ch4 ,all things expressed1 in words have certain causes assigned to them2 but the cause of their nature remains inexplicable1 7whence nature--swabhva is said to be avidy or hidden ignorance74 ,it is the cause of this prime nature 7i4e4 ,god71 whose knowledge alone conduces to our liberations 7from ignorance74 #ci4 ,nothing whatever has its particular nature of itself1 unless it were implanted in it by the intelligence of ,god1 as it were by infusion of the moisture of divine intelligence4 #dj4 ,all our thoughts1 are agitated by inspiration of the breath of the great intellect2 know them therefore as proceeding from the vacuum of the entity of the supreme ,brahma4 #da4 ,there is no difference whatever1 in the different nature of the creator and creation2 except it be as that of the air and its agitation1 which are the one and same thing and of the same nature4 ,the thought of their difference is as erroneous1 as the sight of one's death in his dream4 #db4 ,an error continues so long1 as the blunder does not become evident by the light of reasoning2 when the error being cleared of its falsity1 flies to and vanishes into the light and truth of ,brahma4 #dc4 ,error being the false representation of something1 flies away before a critical insight into it2 and all things being but productions of our error1 like our conception of the horns of hare1 they all vanish before the light of true knowledge1 which leaves the entity of ,brahma only at the end4 #dd4 ,therefore give up all your errors and delusions1 and thereby get rid of the burden of your diseases and decay2 and meditate only on the ,one1 that has no beginning1 middle1 or end1 is always clear and the same1 and full of bliss and felicity1 and assimilate yourself to the nature of the clear firmament3 7which according to ,vasishtha is the nature and form of ,god74 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,practice ,,of ,,spiritual ,,yoga ,,or ,,intellectual ,,meditation4 ,argument3--,elucidation of the doctrine that1 the best way of avoiding worldly affairs1 is to refrain from mixing with them4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the man who is lost in the pleasure or under the pains1 which fall to his share in this life1 is lost for ever for the future2 but he who is not thus lost 7by keeping his soul aloof from the vicissitudes of life71 is pronounced to be imperishable by the verdict of the sstras4 #b4 ,he who has his desires always rising in his mind1 is ever subject to the changes of his fortune2 therefore it is proper to give up desire at first1 in order to prevent the alternation of pain and pleasure4 #c4 ,the error that this is ,i and that the world1 does not attach to immortal soul2 which is tranquil and unsupported1 quite dispassionate and undecaying in itself4 #d4 ,that this is ,i1 that is ,brahma1 and the other is the world1 are verbal distinctions that breed error in the mind2 by attributing different appellations1 to one uniform and invariable void that is ever calm and quiet 7,this is the eternal vacuum of ,vasishtha1 beside which there is nothing else in existence74 #e4 ,here there is no ego nor world1 nor the fictitious names of ,brahma and others2 the all pervading ,one being quite calm and all in all1 there is no active or passive agent at all in this place 7or vacuity74 #f4 ,the multiplicity of doctrines and the plurality of epithets1 which are used to explain the true spirit and inexplicable ,one1 are null and refutable1 and among them the word ego in particular1 is altogether false and futile4 #g4 ,the man absorbed in meditation does not see the visibles1 as the thoughtless person has no perception of the ghost standing in his presence2 and as one sleeping man does not perceive the dreams1 occurring to another sleeping by his side1 nor hear the loud roar of clouds1 in the insensible state of his sound sleep4 #h4 ,in this manner the courses of the spirits are imperceptible to us1 though they be continually moving all about us2 because it is our nature to perceive what you know of1 and never know anything1 which is without or beyond our knowledge4 #i4 ,knowledge also being as our soul1 shows all things like itself 7i4e4 as we have their ideas or representations of them in our mind72 therefore our knowledge of the ego and the world beside1 is not separate from the soul and the ,supreme soul also4 #aj4 ,so our knowledge 7idea or notion71 manifests itself in the form of the world before us2 in like manner as our dreams and desires 7or imaginations71 represent the same as true to us4 ,these various manifestations of the inward soul1 are no way different from it1 as the waves and bubbles are no other than the water1 whence they take their rise4 #aa4 ,notwithstanding the identity of the soul1 and its manifestations of knowledge1 notion1 idea and others2 they are considered as distinct things by ignorant thinkers1 but the learned make no distinction whatever1 between the manifestation and its manifesting principle4 #ab4 ,as the integral soul becomes a component body1 by its assuming to itself all its members and limbs2 so the eternally undivided spirit of ,god1 appears to be multiplied in all parts of the world1 and various works of creation4 #ac4 ,so the intellect contains numberless thoughts in itself1 as a tray holds a great many golden cups in it2 and whenever this intellect is awake1 it sees innumerable worlds appearing before it4 #ad4 ,it is ,brahma himself that shines in his brightness1 in the form of this fair creation2 by being dissolved throughout the whole1 in his liquified form of the ,intellect1 as the sea shows itself in the changing forms of its waves4 #ae4 ,whatever is thought of in the mind1 the same 7thought or idea7 appears in the form of the world c41 and the formless thought takes a definite form2 but what is not in the mind1 never appears to view4 #af4 ,the word intellection and want of thought1 are both applied to the ,supreme ,intellect1 from its almighty power to assume either of them to itself2 this sort of expression is for the instruction of others1 or else there are no such states1 appertaining to the ever intelligent soul in reality4 #ag4 ,the world is neither a reality nor unreality1 but exhibits itself as such by intellection of the intellect2 but as it does not appear in absence of intellection1 the same is inculcated in this lecture4 7i4e4 ,never think of the world or anything at all1 and it will vanish of itself withal74 #ah4 ,intellection and its absence1 are as the agitation and stillness of the soul2 and both of these being under your subjection1 it is quite easy and never difficult for you to restrain yourself1 by remaining as still as a piece of stone4 #ai4 ,an appearance which has neither its essence or substance1 and any assignable cause for its existence1 is the very nature of this egoism of ours1 which we know not whence it has appeared as an apparition before us4 #bj4 ,it is very strange that this apparition of your ego1 which has no entity in reality2 should take such possession of your mind1 as to make you insensible of yourself4 #ba4 ,it is by accident that one happens to observe 7or resolve7 the ego1 in the person of the impersonal ,brahma2 just as a man by deception of his eye sight1 comes to descry an arbour in the sky4 #bb4 ,if my ego and the world are really the same with ,brahma1 then how and whence is it that come to have their production and dissolution1 and what is the cause of our joy or sorrow in either of these cases4 #bc4 ,it is by the almighty power of ,god1 that this world of thought 7or the ideal world71 comes to be visible to sight2 but as the absence of thought of it1 prevents its appearance into us2 there be thoughtless of it in order to avoid its 7repeated7 sight 7in repeated births74 #bd4 ,it is by mere accident that the vacuous 7empty7 mind of ,brahma1 exhibits the ideal world in itself2 just as any man dreams a fairy city1 or sees the objects of his desire and fancy in his mind4 ,how then is it possible to separate the contained from the containing mind8 #be4 ,the creation abides in the divine mind1 in the same manner1 as the waves appertain to the sea and statue inheres in the wood2 and as the relation of pots and other things is with the earth1 so do all things pertain to the nature of ,brahma4 #bf4 ,as all things appear in their formless 7immaterial7 state1 in the unsubstantial and transparent vacuity of the mind2 so doth the ego and this world also appear in the divine mind3 7in the same manner as the shapeless clouds appear in the clear and empty sky1 and exhibit afterwards their various shapes74 #bg4 ,as the air by its natural inflation1 breathes out in various sorts of breezes1 so ,one whose nature is unknown1 evolves himself in every form of the ego of each individual and of the world4 7,the breezes are said to be forty-nine in number4 ,the nature of ,god is called avidy--ignorance or what we know not74 ,the meaning is that1 as the formless and vacuous air produces all sorts of winds4 ,so doth ,god who is nihsabhva without and beyond sabhva nature produce all natures4 #bh4 ,as the formless smoke or vapour1 presents the forms of elephants1 horses1 c41 in the empty clouds2 so doth the unsubstantial spirit of ,god1 represent the formless ego1 tu and all things beside in itself4 #bi4 ,the creation is a component part1 of the unknown body of ,brahma1 as the leaves and branches are those of the tree2 and it contains both its cause and effect of the other4 #cj4 ,knowing the impossibility of the existence of the world1 beside the self ever existent soul2 remain at peace and without trouble within thyself4 ,be free from attributes and errors1 and remain as free and detached as the free1 open and void space4 #ca4 ,know that neither you nor ourselves1 nor the worlds nor the open air and space1 are ever in existence2 and that ,brahma alone is ever existent1 in his eternal tranquility1 calmness and fulness4 #cb4 ,seeing the endless particulars in the universe1 do thou remain free from all particularities as ,i1 myself1 thou1 thyself c41 and think thyself in the sole and ,supreme ,one1 if thou shalt have thy liberation4 #cc4 ,know the knowledge of the particulars1 is for thy bondage alone to them1 and thy ignorance of them lends only to thy liberation 7from all these trammels74 ,sit as thou art and doing thy business1 in thy state of tranquility and total nescience of everything4 #cd4 ,let not the visibles attract thy sight1 nor allow their thoughts engross thy mind2 thus the world disappearing with thy thoughtlessness of it1 say what else have you to think about4 #ce4 ,the absence of the states of the visible and its looker i4e4 of the subjective and objective1 resembling the state of the waking sleeper1 will make remain as void of thoughts1 as the vault of the autumnal sky is devoid of clouds4 #cf4 ,the ,knowledge of the action of the divine ,intellect1 as distinct from the invariable of ,brahma1 is the cause of our making a distinction of the creation from its creator2 just as our knowledge of the difference of the wind from air1 causes us to think of their duality4 ,it is therefore our want of this distinction1 and the knowledge of the unity of ,brahma1 that leads us to our liberation4 #cg4 ,the knowledge of the inflation of the divine spirit1 is verily the cause of our knowledge of the world2 whereas the absence of this knowledge1 and want of our own intellection1 is what is called our nirvna or utter extinction in ,god4 #ch4 ,as the seed is conscious of the sprout growing out of it to be of its own kind1 so the divine ,intellect knows the world that is produced from it1 to be self-same with itself4 #ci4 ,as the seed becomes the plant from its conception of the same in itself1 so the divine ,intellect becomes the creation itself from its concept of the same4 #dj4 ,as the thoughts are but the various modifications of the mind1 so the creation is a modality of the divine ,intellect2 and in this case all kinds of seeds serve as instances1 of having their products of the same nature4 #da4 ,the world is the changeless form of the unchanging essence of ,one1 and know to be as unchangeable and undecaying as ,one1 himself1 who is without beginning and end4 #db4 ,the divine soul is replete with its innate will1 whereby it produces and destroys the world out of and into itself2 this form of unity and duality1 is as the appearance and disappearance of an imaginary city4 #dc4 ,as you have no distinct idea of the things1 expressed by the words sky and vacuum2 so must you know the words ,brahma and creation to bear no distinction in the divine spirit4 7,creation being but the breathing or inflation of the spirit and inseparable from it74 #dd4 ,the great ,intellect or omniscience1 which is the sempiternal form of divine essence1 has the knowledge of the ego coeternal with itself1 which men by ignorance assume to themselves4 #de4 ,there is nothing that ever grows or perishes in the mundane form of ,brahma1 but everything rises and falls in it like the undulation of the sea1 to rise and fall in all way and never to be lost in any way4 #df4 ,all things being of the form of ,brahma1 remain in the selfsame ,brahma2 as all spaces remain in the infinite space and all waves and billows rise and fall in the same sea4 #dg4 ,wherever you are placed and whenever you have time1 attend but for a moment to the 7subjective7 nature of the soul in your consciousness 7without minding any of the objects71 and you will perceive the true ego4 #dh4 ,the sages1 ,o ,rma1 have said of two states of our consciousness1 namely its sensible and insensible states2 now therefore be inclined to that which thou thinkest to be attended with thy best good1 and never be forgetful of it4 7i4e4 ,attach thyself to the subjective side of it1 in disregard of the objective74 ,,chapter ,,xxxv4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,supreme ,,brahma4 ,argument3--,the ,one undivided ,brahma with and without his attributes and his real and unreal forms4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the state of the soul is as placid1 as that of the untroubled mind in the interval of one's journey from one place to another1 when it is free from the cares of both places 7of trouble74 #b4 ,be therefore quite unconcerned in your mind in all states of your life1 whether when you sit or walk or hear or see anything1 for the purpose of securing your unalterable composure4 #c4 ,being thus devoid of your desires1 and undistinguished in society1 continue as steadfast as a rock1 in the particular conduct of your station in life4 #d4 ,being placed in this manner beyond the reach of ignorance1 one is blest with the light of knowledge in his mind4 #e4 ,after disappearance of ignorance from the mind1 there can be no trace of any thought left in it2 nor can the mind think of anything1 when tranquility has got her ascendency in it4 #f4 ,brahma is verily one with the world1 and the selfsame one appearing as many to our ignorance2 which represents the plenitude of ,brahma as a multitude1 and his pure spirit as extended matter4 #g4 ,the plenum 7of creation7 appears as vacuum 7of annihilation71 and vacuity appearing as substantiality2 brightness deemed by darkness1 and what is obscure is brought to light4 #h4 ,the unchangeable is seen as changing and the steady appearing as moving2 the real appears as unreal1 and the unreality as reality2 so that seeming as otherwise1 and so the vice versa also4 #i4 ,the indivisible appears as divided1 and energy appearing as inertia2 the unthinkable seems as the object of thought1 and the unparted whole seeming to shine in innumerable parts4 #aj4 ,the unego appears as the very ego1 and the imperishable ,one appearing as perishable2 the unstained seem as tainted1 and the unknowable known as the knowable all of the known world4 #aa4 ,the luminous ,one appearing as deep darkness of chaos1 and the oldest in time manifested as the new born creation2 and the ,one minuter than an atom1 bearing the boundless universe in its bosom4 #ab4 ,he the soul of all1 is yet unseen or dimly seen in all these his works2 and though boundless and endless in ,himself1 he appears as bounded in the multitudinous works of his creation4 #ac4 ,being beyond illusion1 ,he binds the world in delusion2 and being ineffable light1 he centres his brightness in the dazzling sun4 ,know then1 ,o best of inquirers1 that ,brahma resembles the endless expanse of the vast ocean4 #ad4 ,this immense treasure of the universe1 so enormous in its bulk1 appears yet as light as a feather1 when put into balance with the immensity of ,brahma2 and the rays of his illusion1 eluding the moon-beams in their transparency1 are as invisible as the glare of the mirage4 #ae4 ,brahma is boundless and unfordable 7as the ocean71 and is situated in no time nor place nor in the sky1 where he has set the forests of the clusters of the stars1 and the huge mountains of the orbs of planets4 #af4 ,he is minutest of the minute 7by his inhering in the bodies of the smallest minutiae72 and the bulkiest of the bulky4 ,he is the greatest among the great1 and the chiefest of the chief4 #ag4 ,he is neither the doer1 deed nor instrument of doing anything2 and neither is the cause of another1 nor has he any cause for himself4 7,in ,vednta1 all causality is denied of the all pervading ,brahma74 ,and being all empty within1 ,brahma is full in ,himself4 #ah4 ,the world which is the great casket of its contents1 is as void as a vast desert2 and notwithstanding its containing the countless massy and stony mountains in it1 it is as ductile as the plastic ether and as subtile as the rarefied air4 #ai4 ,all things however time worn appear anew every day2 the light becomes dark by night1 and darkness is changed to light again4 #bj4 ,things present become invisible to sight1 and objects at a distance present themselves to view1 the intellectual changes to the material1 and the material vanishes to the superphysical 7thought or spirit74 #ba4 ,the ego becomes the non-ego1 and the non-ego changes to the ego2 one becomes the ego of another1 and that other and the ego1 become as something other and different than the ego4 #bb4 ,the full ocean of the bosom of ,brahma1 gives rise to the innumerable waves of world2 and these waves like worlds evolve from and dissolve into the ocean of ,brahma's breast1 by their liquid like and plastic nature4 #bc4 ,the vacuous body of ,brahma bears a snow white brightness over all its parts1 whence the whole creations is full of a light as fair as snow and frost4 7,light is the first appearance or work of ,god1 and envelopes the whole universe that was formed in and after it74 #bd4 ,this ,god being beyond the space of all time and place1 and without all forms1 figures1 and shapes whatever2 stretches out in space and all times of day and night1 the unreal figures in the world like the unstable waves of the sea4 #be4 ,in this light there shines the bright filament of the worlds1 in the ample space of the sky2 appearing as so many ancient arbours standing in a long and large forest1 and bearing the five elements as their pentapetalous leaves4 #bf4 ,the great ,god has spread out this light1 as a clear mirror before his sight2 in order as he wished to see the shadow of his own face1 represented in the pellucid twilight 7which proceeded at first from him74 #bg4 ,the unbounded intellect of ,god1 produced of its own free will the spacious firmament1 wherein the lord planted the tree of his creation1 which brought forth the luminous orbs as its fruits in different parts of it4 #bh4 ,the lord created a great many varieties of things1 both in the inside as well as outside of himself2 which appear as internal thoughts in his intellect1 and as all entities and non-entities in his outer or physical world4 #bi4 ,in this manner1 the divine mind exhibits the different forms of things1 in itself and of its own will1 as the tongue displays the varieties of speech within the cavity of the mouth4 #cj4 ,it is the flowing of the fluid of divine will1 which forms the worlds2 and it is the conception of pleasant sensations in the mind1 that causes these torrents and whirlpools in the ocean of the world4 7i4e4 ,the will is the cause of creation1 and the feelings and passions are as whirlwinds and whirlpools in the mind74 #ca4 ,it is from the divine mind that all things proceed1 as the light issues from fire2 as it is the lulling of the creative mind to rest1 that the glow of all visible objects are extinguished and put out of sight4 #cb4 ,all the worlds appertain to the divine intellect1 as the property of whiteness adheres to the substance of snow2 and all things proceeded from it1 as the cooling moon-beams issue out of the lunar orb4 #cc4 ,it is from flush of the hue of this bodiless intellect1 that the picture of the world derives its variegated colouring2 and it is this intellect alone which is to be known1 as an infinite extension without its privation or variation at any time4 #cd4 ,this stupendous ,intellect1 like the gigantic fig-tree 7ficus religiosa7 of the forest1 stretches out its huge branches on the empty air of heaven1 bearing the enormous bodies of orbs of worlds1 like clusters of its fruits and flowers4 #ce4 ,again this colossal intellect appears as a huge mountain1 firmly fixed in the air1 and letting down many a gushing and running stream1 flowing with numberless flowers1 falling from the mountain trees4 #cf4 ,in this spacious theatre of vacuum1 the old actress of destiny1 acts her part of the representation of worlds in their repeated rotations and succession4 #cg4 ,in this stage the player boy--time is also seen to play his part1 of producing and destroying by turns an infinity of worlds1 in the continued course of ,kalpa and ,mahkalpa ages1 and in the rotation of the parts of time4 #ch4 ,this playful time remains firm in his post1 notwithstanding the repeated entrances and exits of worlds in the theatre of the universe2 just as a fixed mirror ever remains the same1 though shadows and appearance in it1 are continually shifting and gliding through it4 #ci4 ,the ,lord ,god is the causal seed of the worlds1 whether existing at present or to come into existence in future2 just in the same manner as the five elemental principles are causes of the present creation4 7,here ,brahma is represented1 as in all other passages1 as the material cause of the world74 #dj4 ,the twinklings of his eye cause the appearance and disappearance of the world1 with all its beauty and brightness2 but the ,supreme soul having no outward eye or its twinkling1 is confined in his spirit only4 7,the physical actions which are attributed to ,god1 are always taken in their figurative sense74 #da4 ,the very many great1 and very great creations and dissolutions of worlds1 and the incessant births and deaths of livings1 which are continually going on in the course of the nature2 are all the various forms of the ,one unvaried spirit1 whose breath1 like the inflation of air1 produces and reduces all from and into itself4 ,know this and be quiet and still4 ,,chapter ,,xxxvi4 ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,seed ,,or ,,source ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,description of ,avarice as the great ,bondage of life and harmlessness of the common blessing of life obtained without avarice4 i4e4 ,prohibition of avariciousness and not of ordinary enjoyments4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the false varieties of the world take us by surprise1 as the eddies attract to them the passing vessels2 but they are all found to be of the same nature1 as the various waves of the sea4 7,as all the waves are but water1 so all worldly appearances are mere enticing delusions74 #b4 ,the nature of the whole world1 is as unknowably known to us2 as that of the universal vacuum which rests in ,god alone1 is imperceptibly perceptible to our eyes4 7,all we see of the sky1 is but a blank which is nothing74 #c4 ,as ,i find nothing in the fancied cities of boys in the air1 7which they think to abound with ghosts etc472 so doth this really ideal world1 appear to be in real existence to boys alone4 7,but the wise know it as unreal74 #d4 ,the sight and thought of visible appearances1 are as the visions and remembrances of objects in dream2 and so is this world but an appearance to the sight1 and a phantom and phantasy in the mind4 #e4 ,the phenomenal and the fancy1 have no pith nor place except in the intellect2 beside which there is nothing to be had save an unbounded vacuity only4 ,where then is the substantiality of the world8 #f4 ,the error of the world consists in the knower's knowledge of it1 and it is the ignorance 7of the existence7 of the world1 that is free from this error2 and the knowing or ignoring of it is dependant to thee1 as the thinking or unthinking of a thing1 is entirely in thy power4 7,every one is master of his thoughts74 #g4 ,the vacuous intellect being of the form of the transcendent sky1 is of the state of an extended space1 to which it is impossible to impute any particular nature or quality whatsoever4 7,the gloss explains it by saying that1 the intellect is neither any extended matter1 nor entirely an empty vacuity1 since it is the source of all intellectual powers and mental faculties74 #h4 ,the world also being of the form of the intellect 7i4e4 a formal representation of it72 has no particular character or variable property assignable to it4 ,it is seen to be existent1 but having no particular feature of its own1 it is not subject to any variation in its nature 7i4e4 ,being a formless thing1 it can have no vikra or change of form at all74 #i4 ,all this being a representation of the vacuous intellect1 has no substantiality whatever in it2 it is the substance and not the knowledge of a thing1 that is subject to any change in its form1 because knowledge appertains to the intellect1 which is always unchangeable4 #aj4 ,i see all quiet and calm1 and the pure spirit of ,god2 ,i am without the error of ego1 tu c41 and see nothing about me1 in the same manner as we can never see a forest growing in the air4 #aa4 ,know this my voice to be the empty air as my conscious thought1 and know also these words of mine to proceed from my empty consciousness1 which resides in the empty spirit likewise4 7i4e4 ,sound proceeds from the empty spirit and not from the material body7 7as some would have it74 #ab4 ,that which they designate the transcendent essence1 is the eternal and involuntary state of rest of the ,divine soul1 and not what it assumes to itself of its own volition 7as that of the creative energy of ,brahm--the ,demiurge74 ,that state resembles that of a slab of stone1 with the figures naturally marked upon1 or as the pictures drawn in a plate or chart4 #ac4 ,the silent man 7muni or mouni7 whose mind is calm and quiet in the management of his ordinary business1 remains unmoved as a wooden statue1 and without the disturbance of any desire or anxiety4 #ad4 ,the living wise and listless man sees all along his life time1 the world resembling a hollow reed1 all empty within and without it1 and having no pith or juice in the inside of it4 7,the wise well know the vanity of the world74 #ae4 ,he who is not delighted with the outer world1 reaps the pleasure of his inner meditations2 but he who is indifferent to both in his mind1 is said to have gone over the ocean of the world 7and set free from all his cares74 #af4 ,give out the words from your lungs1 like a sounding reed from its hollow pipe2 and clear your mind from its thoughts1 by keeping your body intact from busy affairs1 and employing no other member of it after them 7except your tongue74 #ag4 ,touch the tangibles as they come to thee without thy desiring them2 and remain in thy solitary cell without thy wishing for or minding about them1 or grieving at their want4 #ah4 ,you may relish the various flavours1 which are offered to you2 and take them to your mouth in the manner of a spoon without wishing for or taking a delight in their sweet taste4 #ai4 ,you may see all sights1 that appear before you2 without your desiring for or delighting in them4 #bj4 ,you can smell the sweet perfumes and flowers1 that fall in your way without your seeking them1 take the scents only to breathe them out1 as the odoriferous winds scatter the flowers all around4 #ba4 ,in this manner if you go on to enjoy the objects of sense with utter indifference to them1 and neither longing after or indulging yourself in any2 you shall in that case have nothing to disturb your peace and content at any time4 #bb4 ,but whoso finds a zest for the poisonous pleasures of life1 increasing in himself day by day2 casts his body and mind to be consumed in their burning flame1 and loses his endless felicity4 #bc4 ,want of desire in the heart1 is said to constitute the obtuse insensibility of the soul1 called samadhna by dispassionate sages2 and there is no other better lesson to secure the peace of mind1 than the precept of contentment 7lit4 absence of desire74 #bd4 ,the increasing desire is as painful1 as one's habitation in hell fire2 while the subsidence of desires in the mind1 is as delightsome as his residence in heaven4 #be4 ,it is desire alone1 which constitutes the feelings of the heart and mind2 and it is this1 which actuates mankind to the practice of their austerities and penances1 according to the sstras4 #bf4 ,whenever a man allows his desire1 to rise in any manner in his heart2 even then he scatters a handful of the seeds of affliction1 to sprout forth in the fair ground of his mind4 7,the more desire the more pain74 #bg4 ,as much as the craving of one is lessened by the dictates of this reason1 so much do the pain of his avaricious thoughts cease to molest them4 7,nothing to desire nothing to fear74 #bh4 ,the more doth a man cherish his fond desire in his mind1 the more does it boil and rage and wave in his breast4 #bi4 ,if you do not heal the malady of your desire1 by the medicine of your own efforts2 then ,i think you will never find a more powerful balsam to remedy this your inveterate disease4 #cj4 ,should you be unable to put a check to your desire altogether1 you must still try to do it by degrees1 as a passenger never fails to get his goal even by slow paces in time4 #ca4 ,he who does not try to diminish his desires day by day1 is reckoned as the meanest of men1 and is destined to live in misery every day4 #cb4 ,our cupidity is the causal seed of the crop of our misery in this world2 and this seed being fried in the fire of our best reason1 will no more vegetate in the ground of our breast4 #cc4 ,the world is the field of our desires and the baneful sources of misery only1 it is the extinction of them which is called nirvna2 therefore never be tempted by the delusion of desire for your utter destruction4 #cd4 ,of what avail are the dictates of the sstras1 and the precepts of our preceptors2 if we fail to understand that1 our samdhi or final rest consists in the extinction of our temporary desires4 #ce4 ,he who finds the difficulty of checking his desires in his mind1 it is hopeless for him to derive any good from the instructions of his preceptors1 or the teachings of the sstras whatever4 #cf4 ,it is the poison of avarice which proves the bane of human life1 as the native forests of stags prove destructive to them1 by being infested by huntsmen4 7,hearts infested by avarice1 are as detrimental to men2 as forests infested by hunters are baneful to stags74 #cg4 ,if one would not deal frivolously1 with the acquisition of his self-knowledge 7spirituality72 he may but learn to extenuate his cravings1 and he will thereby be led insensibly1 to the acquirement of his spiritual knowledge4 #ch4 ,extinction of wish is the extirpation of anguish1 and this is the sense of the nirvna bliss2 therefore try to curtail your desires1 and thereby to cut off your bondage1 which will not be difficult for you to do1 if you will but try to do so4 #ci4 ,the evils of death and decrepitude1 and the weeds of continued woes1 are the produce of secret seed of desire1 which to be burnt betimes by the fires of equanimity and insouciance4 #dj4 ,wherever there is inappetency1 the liberation from bondage is found to be even there also2 therefore suppress always your rising desires1 as you repress your fleeting breath 7in the practice of ajap or suppression of breathings74 #da4 ,wherever there is appetence1 even there is our bondage in this world2 and all our acts of merit or demerit and all our distresses and diseases1 are the invariable companions of our worldly wishes4 #db4 ,the dominant desire being deprived of its province1 and the indifferent saint being freed from its bondage2 it is made to weep and wail1 as when a man is robbed by a robber4 #dc4 ,as much as a man's desire is decreased in his breast1 so much so does his prosperity increase1 leading him onward towards his liberation4 #dd4 ,a foolish man that is ignorant of himself 7i4e4 of his soul and spirit71 and fosters his fond desire for anything2 is as if he were watering at the root of the poisonous arbour of this world1 only to bring his death by its baneful fruits4 #de4 ,there is the tree of desire growing in the human heart and yielding the two seeds 7fruits7 of happiness and misery 7i4e4 of good and evil72 but the latter being fanned by the breeze of sin1 bursts out in a flame which burns down the other1 and together with it its possessor also4 7,the evil desire supercedes the good one74 ,,chapter ,,xxxvii4 ,a ,,lecture ,,on ,,the ,,visibles ,,and ,,visible ,,world4 ,arguments3--,arguments to show that the world is no production of ,divine will or volition1 but a reproduction of ,brahma himself4 ,vasishtha continued3--,hear me explain to you more fully1 ,o ,rma6 what ,i have already told you in brief1 regarding the treatment of the malady of desire1 which forms also an article of the practice of yoga asceticism4 #b4 ,tell me if the will is anything1 beside the soul in which it subsists2 and if it is nothing apart from the soul1 how do you wish to attribute an agency to it1 other than that of the soul8 #c4 ,the divine intellect being a thing2 more subtile in its nature than the rarity of open air1 is consequently without any part1 and indivisible into parts4 ,it is of itself an integrant whole1 and one with myself1 thyself and the whole world itself4 #d4 ,this intellect is of the nature of vacuum1 and the infinite vacuum itself2 it is the knower and the known or the subjective and objective world likewise4 ,what then is that other you call the will8 #e4 ,there is no relation of the container and contained1 or of the subject or object between it and ourselves2 nor do we know those saintly men1 who know it as any object of their knowledge4 #f4 ,we are at a loss to determine the relation1 of the subjectivity and objectivity of our 7as when ,i say1 ,i am conscious of myself1 here 8,i am0 is the subject of myself--the object74 ,it is just as impossible to find out my egoism and meity1 as it is to expect to see a potential black moon in the sky4 7,here is a long note on the subjective and objective of my knowledge of myself74 #g4 ,such is the case with all the triple conditions of the subject1 object and predicate 7as the beholder1 beholden and beholding72 which having no existence of their own in the nature of things1 ,i know not how they may subsist elsewhere except in the essence of the very soul4 #h4 ,in the nature of things1 all unrealities are referred to the reality of the soul1 as our egoism and tuism1 the subjective1 objective c42 and so all things liable to destruction are said to become extinct in the self-existent and everlasting soul4 #i4 ,in extinction there is no presence of anything1 nor anything present is said to become extinct2 the idea of the simultaneous presence and absence of a thing1 is as absurd as the sight of light and darkness together in the same place at the same time4 #aj4 ,neither can these abide together1 on account of the repugnance of their nature2 nor can they both be extinct at the same1 as we see the presence of the one and the absence of the other before our eyes4 ,so there is no nirvna in the living1 because the one is a state of rest1 and the other of pain and misery4 #aa4 ,the phenomenals are fallacies1 and afford no real happiness2 think them as unreal1 and rely solely in the increate lord1 by thy nirvna or extinction in him 7through the medium of thy devout meditation74 #ab4 ,the pearl-shell looks like a silver1 which is not likely to be realized from it2 it is of no use or value1 why then do you deceive yourself1 with such like baubles of the world8 #ac4 ,therefore their presence or possession is full of misery1 as their want or absence is fraught with felicity2 want being had with the knowledge of the term1 proves a substantive good in thy thought nididhysana of it4 7,want importing the absence both of good and evil1 is a certain blessing4 ,it may mean also want 7of riches7 with the gain of knowledge1 is a certain good in the province of thought74 #ad4 ,why then the vile do not come to perceive their bondage in riches8 and why is it that they slight to layhold on the treasure of their eternal welfare1 which is even now offered before them8 #ae4 ,knowing the causes1 effects1 and states of things1 to be full of the presence of the ,one only2 why do they fail to feel his immediate presence in their consciousness1 which spreads alike through all8 #af4 ,mistaken men like the stray deer1 are seeking ,brahma in the causes and states of things2 not knowing that the all pervading spirit1 spreads undivided and unspent throughout the whole vacuum of space 7or throughout the infinite vacuity of space74 #ag4 ,but what is end of the doctrine of causation1 unless it to establish the cause as the primary source of all2 but how can force which is the cause of ventilation1 and fluidity the causal principle of liquid bodies1 be accounted as the creator of wind and water8 7,in this case every cause becomes a separate ,deity which is absurd74 #ah4 ,it is absurdity to say that1 vacuity is the cause of vacuum1 and the creative power is the cause of creation1 when ,one alone1 is the cause1 effect1 state and all of every thing himself4 7,one-,god is the primary1 formal and final cause of all74 #ai4 ,it is therefore absurd to attribute the terms1 importing causality and creativeness of creations to ,brahma1 who is identic with all nature1 is unchangeable in his nature1 and derives neither pleasure nor pain from his act of the creation of worlds4 7,what changed through all yet in all the same c41 and without the feelings of pleasure or pain74 #bj4 ,brahma being no other than the intellect 7or omniscience71 can have no will or volition stirring in his nature2 as a doll soldier or painted army1 are no other than the mud or plate and without any motion or movement of them4 #ba4 ,rma said3--,if there is no reality of the world1 and our ego and tu are all unreal1 and the phenomenal is no other than the noumenal ,brahma2 then it is the samething1 whether there be any will stirring in the ,divine mind or not1 since ,god is always all in all4 #bb4 ,again if the rising will 7to create7 be identic with the nature of ,god1 as the rising wave is the same as the sea water2 then what mean the precepts of controlling the will 7such as the enforcing a good and restraining a bad desire78 #bc4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is true1 ,o ,rma1 as you have understood it1 that the divine will is no other than the divinity itself1 in the knowledge of those1 who are awakened to the light of truth4 ,but hear me tell you further on this subject4 #bd4 ,whenever a wish rises in the breast of the ignorant1 it subsides of itself from their knowledge of the nature of the wished for object2 just as the gloom of night1 departs before the advance of sun-light4 #be4 ,but the rising wish sets of itself in the heart of the wise man1 as the doubt of duality vanishes from the minds of learned1 upon the rise of the light of their understanding4 #bf4 ,no one can wish for any thing1 whose desires of all things are already dead within himself2 and who is freed from his ignorance1 and is set in the pure light of his liberation4 #bg4 ,the wise man is neither fond of1 nor averse to the sight of the phenomenals2 he views the beauties of nature 7lit4 of the visibles71 as they appear before him1 without relishing 7or delighting7 in them of his own nature4 #bh4 ,if any thing offer itself to him1 by some or by means or causality of others2 and if he find it right for him to take the same1 he may then have the option1 either to accept or refuse it1 as he may like4 #bi4 ,verily the will or desire and the unwillingness of the wise1 are actuated by and proceed from ,brahma himself2 they have no uncontrollable or inordinate desire1 but pursue their own course1 and have nothing new or inordinary to wish for4 7,pleased with their simple living1 they have nothing anew to wish for or accept74 #cj4 ,as wisdom rises on one side1 so the wish sets down on the other 7side72 nor can they combine to dwell together1 as there is no chance of their uniting in the mind of any body1 as there is no possibility of light and darkness meeting at the same place4 #ca4 ,the wise man1 is not in need of any exhortation or prohibition in any act2 because his heart being quite cool in itself in all his desires1 there is no body to tell him anything to any purpose4 #cb4 ,this is the character of the wise man1 that his desires are imperceptible in his heart1 and while he is full of joy in himself1 he is complacent to all others about him4 #cc4 ,there is also a shade of heavenly melancholy settled in the outward countenance1 and a distaste or indifference to every thing in his mind2 it is then that the current of desires ceases to flow in his heart1 and his mind is elevated with the sense of his liberation4 #cd4 ,whose soul is serene1 and his intellect unclouded by the doubts of unity and duality2 his desires turned to indifference and all his thoughts concentrated in the ,lord4 #ce4 ,whose knowledge of duality1 has entirely subsided in his intellect2 and whose belief of unity is without the alloy of the union of any other thing 7in the sole and perfectly pure ,one72 who is quite at ease and without any uneasiness1 and resides calmly in the tranquility of the ,supreme soul4 #cf4 ,he has no object to gain by his acts1 nor anything to lose by their omission2 he has no concern whatever with any person or thing either for aught of his good or otherwise4 #cg4 ,he is indifferent both to his desire as well as to his coolness1 nor has he any care for the reality or unreality of things2 he is not concerned about himself or others1 nor is he in love with his life nor fear of death4 #ch4 ,the self-extinguished soul of the enlightened1 never feels any desire stirring in itself2 and if ever any wish is felt to rise in his breast1 it is only an agitation of ,brahma in it4 #ci4 ,to him there is no pleasure or pain1 nor grief or joy2 but he views the world as the quiet and increate soul of the ,divinity manifest by itself2 the man that goes on in this manner1 like the course of a subterranean stream1 is truly called the enlightened and awakened4 #dj4 ,he who makes a pleasure of his pain in his thought1 is as one who takes the bitter poison for his sweet nectar2 the man who thus converts the evil to good1 and thinks himself happy in his mind is said by the wise1 to be awakened to his right sense 7to wit that all partial evil is universal good74 #da4 ,thinking one's self as vacuity1 with the vacuum of ,brahma2 and as quiet as the tranquility of the ,divine spirit2 and the thought of every thing resting in the spacious mind of ,god1 is tantamount to the belief of the world as one with ,brahma himself4 7,this is the doctrine of pantheism of vednta and all mysticism74 #db4 ,in this manner all consciousness is lost in unconsciousness1 and the knowledge of the world1 is lost in the infinity of empty air4 ,the error of our egoism is likewise drowned in the depth of the even and vast expanse of the ,divine unity4 #dc4 ,all that is seen here in the forms of the moving and fixed bodies of the world 7the roving and fixed stars c472 are all as quiet as quiescent empty sky which contains them1 or as a visionary utopia of imagination4 #dd4 ,as there is a free intercourse of the thoughts1 of one person with those of another1 and there is no interposition in their passage from one mind to another2 in the same manner there is the same reflection of this shadowy world in the minds of all at once4 #de4 ,the earth1 heaven and sea1 with the hills and all other things1 appear before our empty minds1 exactly as the false sights of water c41 appear in a mirage to our eyes4 #df4 ,the phantasmagoria of the world1 appearing visibly before us1 is as false as a vision in our dream1 and as delusive as a spectre appearing in the imaginations of little boys4 #dg4 ,our egoism or consciousness of ourselves1 which seems as a reality unto us1 is no other than a delirium of our brain1 and an erroneous conception of the mind4 #dh4 ,the world is neither an entity nor non-entity either1 nor a substantiality and unsubstantiality both together2 it is not to be ascertained by the sense nor explained by speech1 and yet it exhibits itself as the fairy land or air drawn castle in empty air4 7,its nihility is the doctrine of vacuists and its substantiality is supported by materialists2 that it is neither is tenet of sceptics1 and therefore it is but an empty dream74 #di4 ,here our wish and effort as well as our want of both1 are all alike in the opinion of the learned 7who maintain the doctrine of irrevocable fate72 but in my opinion it is better to remain in cool indifference 7owing to the vanity of human wishes74 #ej4 ,the knowledge of 8,i and the world0 7i4e4 of the subjective and objective71 is as that of air in the endless vacuity2 it is the vibration of the intelligent soul1 like the breath of air in vacuum1 that causes this knowledge in us1 beside which there is no other cause 7of the subjective self or the objective world74 #ea4 ,the aptitude of the intellect or the intelligent soul1 to its thoughts or longing after external objects1 makes it what we call the mind1 which is the seat of same with what is called the world2 but the soul getting released from this leaning1 is said to have its liberation4 ,follow this precept and keep yourself quiet4 #eb4 ,you may have your desire or not1 and see the world or its dissolution2 and come to learn that neither of these is either any gain or loss to thee1 since there is nothing here in reality1 and every thing is at best but the shadowy and fleeting form of a dream4 7,so likewise the production and annihilation of the world1 which are the products of divine will1 is of any consequence to the unconnected deity74 #ec4 ,the nolens volens or the will and no will1 the ens non ens or the entity and non-entity1 the presence or absence of any thing1 and the feeling of pain and pleasure at the loss or gain of something1 are all but ideal and mere aerial phantasies of the mind4 #ed4 ,he whose desires are decreased day by day1 becomes as happy as the enlightened wise man1 and has like him his share in the liberation of his soul4 #ee4 ,when the sharp knife of keen desire pierces the heart1 it produces the sorely painful sores of sorrow and grief1 which defy the remedies of mantras1 minerals and all sorts of medicament4 #ef4 ,whenever ,i look back into the vast multitude of my past actions1 ,i find them all to be full of mistakes1 and not one which was not done in error1 and appears to be without a fault or blunder4 #eg4 ,when we meet only with the erroneousness of our past conduct1 and find them all to have been done for nothing2 how then is it possible for us to discern the hearts of others1 which are as inaccessible hills unto us4 7,how can we discern another's mind1 when we to our own are so grossly blind74 #eh4 ,our dealing with the unreal world 7as with untruthful men71 is lost in the glancing or twinkling of an eye2 for who can expect to hold the horns of a hare in his fingers4 #ei4 ,the belief of our egoism or personality consisting in our gross bodies1 serves to convert the aerial intellect to a gross substance in a moment2 and make our mind as a part of the solid body1 just as the rain drop is congealed to the hailstone4 #fj4 ,it is owing to our intellect1 that we have the conception of the reality of our unreal bodies2 just as the undying principle of the intellect1 happens to see its own death in our sleep4 #fa4 ,as the unreal and unsubstantial vacuum1 is said to be the blue or azure sky by its appearance2 so is this creation attributed to ,brahma by supposition1 which is neither real nor quite unreal4 #fb4 ,as vacuity is the inseparable property of vacuum1 and fluctuation is that of air2 so is creation an inseparable attribute of ,god1 and is one and same with the essence of ,brahma himself4 #fc4 ,there is nothing produced here as the world c41 nor is anything lost or annihilated in it2 all this is as a dream to a sleeping man1 which is a mere appearance and nothing in reality4 #fd4 ,so the inexistent earth and others1 are apparent in their appearance only2 then why need you care or fear about the being or not being of this world1 which is no more than a production and subversion of it in the region of the ,intellect4 #fe4 ,the apparent body1 is no reality by the causality of the elements as the earth c42 it is only a formation of the ,divine intellect1 and situated in the divine spirit4 7,the body is neither formed out of the dust of the earth1 nor by a combination of the five elements2 but is a shadow of its form in the ,divine mind74 #ff4 ,the instrumentality of the mind c4 in the causation of the world1 is also untrue and absurd1 owing to the union of two causes in one 7i4e4 the combination of the primary and instrumental causes together74 7,the unity of ,god consists in his being the original and material cause1 and not as a formal or instrumental one74 #fg4 ,all things are uncaused and unconsecutive in the divine mind1 where they are eternally present at one and the sametime2 as the whole series of the actions of a man from his birth to death1 appear in an instant of his dreaming states4 7,all is ever present before the omnipresent and omniscient74 #fh4 ,all things are contained in and as inane as the vacant ,intellect1 where this spacious earth with her high hills of solid bases1 and all her peoples with their actions and motions1 are ever existent in their aerial forms in the knowledge of the aeriform intellect of ,god4 #fi4 ,the world is a picture painted on the airy surface of the divine mind1 with the various colours derived from the intellect of ,god2 it never rises nor sets1 nor does it ever become faint1 nor does it fade nor vanishes away4 #gj4 ,the world is a huge wave of fluidity in the water of the ,intellect1 why is it so and how produced1 and how and when it is subside1 is what nobody can say4 7,the world is once compared to breath of air and here to a liquid1 to mean its having no solidity in it74 #ga4 ,when the great vacuity of the intellect is calm and quiet1 then the world remains in its form of an empty void also2 just as the soul being quite thoughtless in itself2 there can be no rise or fall of any object before it4 7,hence the alternate action and rest of the divine spirit1 is said to cause the appearance and disappearance of the world by turns4 ,manu ,i74 #gb4 ,as we imagine the mountains to touch the skies1 and the sky to present the figures of mountains in it2 it is in the like manner that we suppose the presence of ,brahma in all things of creation4 7,but all this supposititious knowledge proceeds from error74 #gc4 ,it is by the application of a jot of their intelligence1 that yogis convert the world to empty air1 as also fill the hollow air with the three worlds up and down4 7i4e4 ,they are practised to produce everything as also to reduce it to nothing in their thought74 #gd4 ,as we imagine thousands of the elysian cities 7or seats7 of the siddha deities1 to be situated in the different regions of heaven2 so are the numberless worlds scattered apart from one another in the infinite space of divine intellect4 #ge4 ,as the eddies in the ocean whirl apart from one another1 and seem to make so many seas of themselves2 though they are composed of the same water4 #gf4 ,so the numerous worlds1 revolving separately in the vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect1 are all of the same nature 7with their intellectual reservoir71 and not otherwise4 #gg4 ,the awakened 7or enlightened7 yogi1 views worlds above worlds in his clairvoyance2 and to pass to the ethereal regions of the perfected siddhas1 as it is related by sages 7in the story of ,ll narrated before74 #gh4 ,there are numberless imperishable beings and immortal spirits1 which are contained in the ,supreme spirit2 as the endless worlds are situated in the hollow sphere of heaven4 #gi4 ,it is the intrinsic pleasure of the divine soul1 to scatter the wandering worlds about it1 as the odorous flower diffuses its immanent fragrance1 and spreads its flying farina all around2 they are not extrinsic or adventitious1 but are born within itself like the lines and marks in a diamond or crystal4 #hj4 ,the fragrance of flowers though mixed up together in the air1 are yet separate from one another2 so are all the created bodies existing together in the air1 all distinct in their natures3 7such is the union of the different elements in one body1 and as every flower has a vassal breeze to bear its own perfume74 #ha4 ,our fancies though of the form of air1 assume different shapes in the minds of men2 such as those of gross natures have them in their gross material forms1 while the holy saints view them in their pure forms in the mind4 7,this means the two views of things in their concrete and abstract forms74 #hb4 ,neither are the gross materialists nor pure spiritualists1 right in their conceptions of things2 but every one has to feel according to his particular view and belief of a thing4 7i4e4 ,the materialist is subject to material pain and pleasure1 from which the idealist is entirely free74 #hc4 ,by thinking the world to be contained in the thought of the ,intellect1 it will be found to be no way different from it1 than the water is from its liquidity4 7,the mind and its thought1 being the one and same thing74 #hd4 ,know chronos--the time1 and cosmos--the universe1 with all the worlds contained in it together with the ego and tu or myself and thyself and all others1 to be the ,one and very unity2 which is the calm and quiet vacuum of the great ,intellect1 which is same with the very self of the unborn and undecaying soul of ,god4 ,be not therefore subject to passions and affections1 which do not appertain to the nature of the self-same ,deity4 ,,chapter ,,xxxviii4 ,,disquisition ,,of ,,nirv,,na--,,quietism4 ,argument3--,exposition of the ,error of the ,duality of the ,intellect and ,intelligibles1 and establishment of the unity of the world with the ,intellect by legitimate ,reasoning4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the ,intellect perceives the world raised before it1 by the fallacy of its understanding2 as a man beholds mountains in the sky1 by the delusion of his eye sight4 #b4 ,the doctrines that the world is the creation of ,brahma or of the mind1 are both alike in substance2 in as much as they regard it in an immaterial and not physical sense4 #c4 ,the world subsisting in our knowledge or consciousness of it1 is same with its internal knowledge1 and not as existing externally or out of our consciousness2 and although it appears to be situated out of it1 like the features of a picture appearing as prominent above their base1 it is on a level with its plane4 ,the original figure being contained in the substratum of our inner knowledge1 the outward appearance is to be likewise known as the same also4 #d4 ,in our opinion there is no difference1 between the two systems of the interior and exterior knowledge of the world2 because both of them being of the form of our knowledge of them1 the exterior shape is no reality at all4 #e4 ,hence all things being the same with our intellectual knowledge of them1 and this knowledge being indistinct and invariable in its nature1 the distinctions of the changing scenes of the world can have no place in it 7and must therefore be false and unreal74 #f4 ,therefore ,i adore that omniscience which is the soul of all1 in which all things exist and whence they all come to existence2 which is all and displays all things in itself and pervades all infinity forever4 #g4 ,when the subjective intellectual power chinmaya1 becomes united with the objective ,chitya or intelligible world1 by means of the intrinsic ,chit or intellect2 it is then that the visible or objective organs of sense drishyangas1 get the sensation chaitanya of their objects and not otherwise4 #h4 ,as it is the intellect alone which is both the subjective as well as the objective1 that is both the viewer and the view1 the seeing and the sight also2 it comes to the same effect1 that the knowledge of all these1 is derived from and dependent upon the main intellect4 #i4 ,if the subjective and objective be not alike in the intellectual soul1 then the subjective and intellectual soul1 can have no perception of the objective and material world4 7,because matter cannot enter into the intellect1 but by the ideas of things which are of an intellectual nature74 #aj4 ,it is from their intellectual nature1 that the objective world is perceived in the subjective soul2 just as a drop of water mixes with the body of waters1 owing to the similarity of the natures4 7,things of the same kind easily combine with one another1 by their natural affinity71 otherwise there is no combination of them as of two pieces of wood4 #aa4 ,when there is no homogeneous affinity between two things as between the intellect and a log of wood1 there can be no union between them2 nor can two pieces of wood know one another1 owing to their want of intellect4 #ab4 ,as the two pieces of wood have no knowledge of one another1 owing to their dull insensibility2 so nothing insensible can be sensible of any thing1 save the intellect which is conversant with intellectuals only4 #ac4 ,the great intellectual soul1 beholds the world as one with itself in its intellectual light2 and sees the material bodies settled as a rock in it1 without their properties of life or motion4 #ad4 ,life1 understanding and other faculties1 are the products of intellection1 which the wonderful property of the intellect1 rises spontaneously in itself4 #ae4 ,the essence of ,brahma exists and exhibits itself in the form of the quiescent universe1 and is personified as the male agent of creation1 by his seminal seed resembling the minute seed of a fig fruit4 #af4 ,there is first of all a small seed1 which developes itself to a tree2 but that first seed had another smaller seed before1 from which it was produced4 ,thus the primary or initial seed being the minutest of the latter ones1 is contained in and let out as an effluvium of the ,supreme soul4 #ag4 ,brahma is the first and minutest soul of all1 which gives to innumerable souls as its seeds2 the inner ones abiding in the spirit of ,god1 are known as spirit2 and the grosser sorts known as things1 are wrongly considered as otherwise1 though they are of the same nature with their original4 #ah4 ,as a thing is the same thing and not different from itself1 whether it is placed above or below2 so everything is the selfsame ,brahma1 in whatever state or form it may appear unto us4 #ai4 ,as gold is no other than gold1 in the various 7lit4 a hundred different7 forms of golden trinkets2 so the invariableness of the unchangeable spirit of ,god1 continues the same in all the changing scenes and varieties in nature4 #bj4 ,as the clouds of the shadowy dreams that hang over your mind1 are in no way related to you2 so the great bustle of creation and its dissolution1 bear no relation to my vacuous soul1 nor disturb the even tenor of my mind4 #ba4 ,as the blueness and moistness1 which are attributed to the vacuous atmosphere of heaven1 are nothing in reality2 and as the legions of siddha spirits1 which are supposed to traverse the regions of air1 are but deceptions of our eye sight2 such is the pageant of the world but an empty air and fallacy of our vision4 #bb4 ,it is the desire of the heart and the false fancy of the mind1 that leads out within us and brings forth the fruit of the world2 just as the dirty water at the bottom of the earth1 moistens the seed that produces a big tree in time4 #bc4 ,the wise man that forgets his egoism1 becomes one with the ,supreme spirit2 and by reducing himself like a bit of rotten straw1 becomes an anima or a minimum particle of the divine soul4 #bd4 ,i find no one among the gods1 demigods and mankind in the three worlds1 who wishes to approach to that ,great ,spirit1 who has the whole world as a hair upon his body4 #be4 ,he who knows the unity of the soul of the universe1 is free from the thought of a duality1 in every state of his life1 and wherever he may be situated4 7,the monotheist sees the ,one soul in all places and all kinds of beings74 #bf4 ,who has a great soul1 and views the world and all as a mere vacuity and nothing in reality2 how can he have any desire for unspiritual and sensible objects4 #bg4 ,he who is indifferent to1 and unconcerned with the endless particulars of the world2 and who views the existent and inexistent in the same light1 is truly a great soul and beyond all praise4 #bh4 ,there is no living being that lives1 or has any property for ever1 it is only the inner consciousness that shows the various appearances in the empty space of the mind4 7,note4 ,our friends and properties are no lasting realities1 except that our minds paint them as such unto us74 #bi4 ,in vain do men think of their life and death1 in this world of nullity2 neither of them is anything in reality1 but as false as the flowing and ebbing of waters in the mirage of life4 #cj4 ,upon due examination1 this error vanishes from view with its cause also2 and then it appears that there is nothing as life or death1 beside the existence of the imperishable one4 7,note4 ,our life is no life1 since we live in death2 and our death is no death1 since we die to live again74 #ca4 ,that man is said to have gone across the ocean of the world1 who has withdrawn himself from the sight of visibles2 who is quiet and content with himself1 and who while he is living1 reckons himself with the dead and as nothing4 #cb4 ,our nirvna extinction is said to be the cessation of our mental actions1 like the extinguishing of a burning flame or lamp2 it is assimilation into the quiescent spirit of ,god1 and continuance in the hebetude of a holy saint4 #cc4 ,again he is called the mukta or liberated1 who finds no delight either in the noumenal or phenomenal 7i4e4 either in his mental functions or visual operations72 but remains as quiet and quite aloof from all as the intangible vacuum4 #cd4 ,i speak of my ego from my want of reason1 but reason points out no egoism in me2 hence the want of any sense in the word ego1 makes the existence of the world quite null and void to me 7who am a mere nullity myself74 7,so says the ,persian mystic ,ke man ,khodra namednam2 ,i know not my very self74 #ce4 ,the intellect is a mere vacuum1 and our consciousness 7which is also a vacuous substance71 gives us the knowledge of the nature of our inner understanding2 the mind 7which is a void likewise71 views the external appearances agreeably to its internal ideas 7,hence all things are but airy nothing without their substantiality74 #cf4 ,now the real entity of your soul1 will become truly blessed in itself1 by your getting the mind1 freed from all its objects at all places and times4 7,the mind being the mirror of soul71 and by thy doing everything in the name of ,god4 7,in every work begin and end with ,god74 #cg4 ,whatsoever thou doest or eatest1 anything thou givest or offerest in sacrifice2 and whatever thou seest1 killest or desirest know them all to proceed from ,god4 7,here man's free will is denied1 and all human actions are believed as ordained by ,god74 #ch4 ,all that we call as ourselves or yourselves and all others1 what we name as space1 time and the sky1 mountains c42 all these together with the actions of all1 are supported by and full of the power and spirit of ,god4 #ci4 ,the vision of our eyes and the thoughts of the mind1 the world and its three times2 and all our diseases1 death and decay1 are all the phenomena appearing in the vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect4 #dj4 ,remain if you can as a silent sage1 unseen and unknown by men1 and without any desire1 thought or effort on your part2 remain as a lifeless thing1 and this is the extinction of a living being4 7,the torpidity of the body combined with mental inactivity constitutes the coolness of the soul74 #da4 ,be freed from your thoughts and desires1 and remain fixed in the eternal ,one without any care for anything2 you may be busy or sit easy1 like the air when it breathes or is calm and still4 #db4 ,let your manliness be above the feelings of desire and affections1 and let your thoughts be directed by rules of the sstras1 and your action by the motion of a clock or watch1 which act their outward movement4 #dc4 ,look on all beings1 without the show of fondness or disfavour 7or love or hatred7 to any one2 be you an inconspicuous light of the world1 resembling a lighted lamp in a picture 7which never burns74 7,here the hidden light is opposed to the sacred text4 ,no one lights a lamp to put it under a bushel74 #dd4 ,the man that has no desire nor any object in view1 and has no relish in carnal and sensual enjoyments2 can have no other delight except in his inquiries after truth by the light of the sstras4 ,he who has his mind purified by the teachings of the sstras and the precepts of holy men1 finds the inscrutable truth shining vividly in his consciousness of it4 ,,chapter ,,xxxix4 ,,vasishtha',s ,g,t ,,or ,,sermon ,,on ,,the ,,sweet ,,peace ,,of ,,mind4 ,argument3--,the inward composure of the enlightened soul and its view of the outer ,world4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the man whose reliance in this world is really lessened1 who is free from desire and unobservant of his religious vows 7for the sake of future reward71 knowing them to be all in vain 7i4e4 the vanity of human wishes74 #b4 ,our egoism is as the vapour of our breath1 falling and sticking on the surface of glass2 which when taken under consideration1 proves to be a causeless sight1 and vanishes to nothing at all in a moment4 #c4 ,he who is unloosed from the veil of delusion1 who has numbed his rising wishes and efforts2 whose soul is filled with heavenly ambrosia 7i4e4 full of holy delight71 it is he who is said to be happy in his very nature and essence4 7,blest is the enlightened and contented soul74 #d4 ,the enlightened mind1 that is unshrouded from the mist of doubts or scepticism2 bears resemblance with the full-moon1 by illuming the sphere of its circle1 with the splendour of its intelligence4 #e4 ,the intelligent man who is freed from his worldliness and doubts1 who has come out of the curtain of ignorance and received the light of truth2 is known as the knowing soul1 shining in the sphere of the autumnal sky4 7,so the sruti3 the knower of the soul1 is as luminous as the very soul74 #f4 ,the holy man likens the pure breeze of heaven1 that blows freely from the region of ,brahma1 without any aim and without its support2 it is cool in itself and cooling and purifying every thing by its touch4 #g4 ,the desire to have an unreality1 is to expect something that is a nullity in nature2 such as the dreaming of heaven1 and seeking for the son of a barren woman4 7,the belief in a future heaven1 which is countenanced in every scheme of religion1 is negatived by ,vasishtha74 #h4 ,so also is the belief of this imaginary world1 which appears as something in existence2 such is the nature of our desire also1 which attributes a substantiality to an aerial nothing4 #i4 ,thus the world being an unreality even at present1 there can be no reality in a heaven or hell in future2 and yet the use of these words is as false1 as the negative expression of a barren woman's son1 or a flower of the etherial arbour4 #aj4 ,the world is truly the form of ,brahma himself1 and is neither an actual or ideal existence1 nor does it rest on any support2 so we are at a loss to understand what is in reality4 #aa4 ,by relying in the tranquil nature of the soul1 you lose your reliance in the natures of things1 and your confidence in yourself2 whereby you come to avoid the troubles concomitant with the whole creation and created beings4 7,reliance in the soul1 relieves the miseries of the world74 #ab4 ,the sight of the intellect like the eye-sight of men1 and the light of the luminaries of heaven1 passes in a moment to the distance of millions of miles2 just so does the sight of the divine intellect1 stretch all over the unlimited space of creation in an instant4 #ac4 ,the divine intellect is as unconceivable as the womb of vacuum1 and as imperceptible as the calm and breathless air of the sky2 and yet it is as joyous as a plant in full-bloom and blossom4 #ad4 ,the learned know all living beings1 to appertain the nature of that intellect2 wherefore men of good intellect and judgment1 place no faith in the creation of the world4 #ae4 ,as we have no knowledge of the dreaming state in our sound sleep1 nor that of sound sleep in our state of dreaming2 just so is our error of creation and annihilation of the world4 7,that is to say3 creation is as false as a dream1 and extinction a quietus as sound sleep1 neither of which relates to the ever-wakeful intellect of ,god74 #af4 ,error is incidental to the nature of things1 and sleeping and dreaming are properties accidental to the material body2 hence neither do these nor the acts of creation and annihilation1 7which are likened to them71 relate to the omniscient and self-sufficient intellect4 #ag4 ,error is the unreal appearance of something1 which flies before examination1 and vanishes ere it may be laid hold upon4 ,the shell appearing as silver is an unreality1 because you cannot get your expected silver from it4 7,all is not gold that glitters74 #ah4 ,whatever is not obtained and unattainable is a nullity1 and whatsoever is wrongly supposed 7as obtainable71 is impossible to be had2 the thing that is unobtainable by its very nature1 is never to be expected1 as anything which is otherwise than and contrary to nature4 #ai4 ,it is the nature of a thing1 that agrees well with it at all times2 and the invariability of any thing1 can never admit of variety under any circumstance4 #bj4 ,all that is natural1 is attended with ease and delight2 but the unnatural1 is full of pain and misery2 know and consider it well1 and do what you think best 7i4e4 prefer the one or the other74 #ba4 ,a minute seed containing a large tree1 is an instance applying to the formless spirit of ,god1 containing the form of the universe in itself4 ,this is a dictum of the ,veda4 #bb4 ,hence visual sight and sensations1 mental thought and understanding1 consciousness of ego or self1 and all other properties belonging to intellectual man1 are the original types of the transcendent spirit1 as fluidity is immanent in water4 ,all these intellectual and spiritual properties are of an airy or vacuous nature4 7,the properties of the adhyatm or intellectual soul1 are but reflexions of the pratyangatm or the spiritual soul of ,god74 #bc4 ,as an embodied being discharges his bodily functions1 by means of his material members and limbs1 so doth spirit and spiritual beings conduct their spiritual functions like the air1 without actually doing them8 7,here hangs a long note on the mode of the spiritual actions74 #bd4 ,it is by force and power of the spirit1 that we mute creatures are enabled to utter the words ,i1 thou c42 which are mere meaningless sounds1 as those emitted by a drum and bear no sense4 7,sound is the gift of ,god1 but its sense is conventional1 and determined by consent of a people74 #be4 ,an appearance which vanishes on our insight into it1 must be held as no appearance at all2 so the formal and phenomenal world1 which vanishes into the formless and invisible spirit of ,god1 is nothing real or substantial of itself4 #bf4 ,those who are possessed of the dream of the world1 are dreaming men1 who being joined together with their dreams1 are never united with the spirit of ,god1 nor do they join the society of holy divines like ourselves4 #bg4 ,all these men are identic with myself in spiritual light1 being one with ,brahma in the tranquil and vacuous nature of the selfsame spirit 7pervading alike in all74 ,but physically considered they are different from me1 in as much as they are fluctuating in their busy course1 like the vacillating winds in air 7while the spirit of yogis is calm and quiet74 #bh4 ,i who am full of the ,true ,one1 appear as a dream or dreaming man to these day dreamers2 while they are in reality as nil and naught to me1 as the dream of a man drowned in the depth of his sleep4 7,a deep or sound sleeper1 sees no dream at all74 #bi4 ,whatever be their conduct in life1 my business is but with ,brahma1 and my living and reliance in ,brahma only4 ,let others think and see whatsoever they like and do1 they are all nil and nothing to me4 7,care not about what others may think of or do to you74 #cj4 ,i am nothing myself1 but belong to the all pervading essence of ,brahma1 it is by means of the divine spirit1 that the body appears as something and utters the word ,i etc4 #ca4 ,the soul that is of the nature of pure consciousness1 and not subject to the contrary sense 7of its materiality71 hath neither its desire for enjoyments or liberation2 and so also they that know the ,lord1 have nothing else to desire4 #cb4 ,the bondage and liberation of men1 being dependent to their own dispositions2 it is folly to foster a great ambition here1 as it is foolishness to look for a sea in a cow's hoof-hole on the ground4 #cc4 ,it is by restraining our natures1 and mitigation of our wants1 that it is possible for us to obtain our liberation here2 or else no riches nor friends nor any of our endeavours1 can serve to bring about the emancipation that is so eagerly sought by us4 #cd4 ,the ,intellect is stretched over all our thoughts about this imaginary world1 as a drop of oil spreads over and diffuses itself in circles upon the surface of water4 #ce4 ,as the scenes seen in a dream1 seem pleasant in their recollection in the waking state2 so the wise sage sees the worldly sights and his egoism also in the same light of a dream4 #cf4 ,by practice of the conditions of yoga meditations alone1 that the impressions of the world are so effaced from the mind1 as not to leave behind any trace of them1 save that of an infinite and still vacuity4 #cg4 ,whenever the true nature of the soul1 appears with its solar blaze within us2 it then dispels the mists of our irrational appetites1 and displays an empty nihility of all entity4 #ch4 ,after the desires are dead and gone and the understanding is cleared from its ignorance1 the soul shines forth with the light of a burning lamp within us4 ,,chapter ,,xl4 ,,on ,,the ,,quiescence ,,of ,,the ,,soul4 ,argument3--,god is not manifest in the world1 nor is the world manifested in ,god2 but both these appear by turns in the soul of the living-liberated person4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the sight of things1 actions of the mind1 the internal faculties and perceptions of the senses1 being all of a superphysical nature1 the true states of these categories are far removed from our knowledge1 and present but a faint appearance of theirs unto us4 #b4 ,the minuteness of the superphysical or in totals1 is outstretched in the forms of external or physical objects2 but this extended appearance of the outer world1 is a mere error 7and creation of our false imagination74 #c4 ,but when this external nature disappears and subsides in the inner soul1 it is then that this phenomenal world is absorbed like a dream in the sound sleeping state of the soul4 #d4 ,our enjoyments and our greatest ailments on earth1 and our kindred and relations are our strongest bondages here2 our wealth is for our bale and woe1 therefore hold yourself to yourself alone 7and mind not about all others74 #e4 ,know your felicity to consist1 in your communion with yourself2 and that you lose yourself1 by your familiarity with the world4 ,participate with the supreme vacuum1 be calm and quiet like it1 and do not disturb yourself like the turbulent air or wind4 7,so ,hafiz and the ,persian mystics3 ,if thou seekest thyself1 then seek not but forsake all others74 #f4 ,i know not myself1 nor do ,i understand what this visible and mistaken world may mean2 ,i am absorbed in the calm and quiet ,brahma1 and feel myself as the sound ,brahma himself4 #g4 ,you behold me as another person1 and address me with words thou c4 in the second person2 but ,i find myself as calm and quiet as the transcendent vacuum itself4 #h4 ,it is in the vacuous sphere of the divine soul1 that you view the false appearances 7of things71 as are produced therein by the misconceptions of your mind2 and these errors are continually rising in your mind1 in the manner of the erratic trepidations in the mind4 #i4 ,the tranquil soul of ,brahma1 knows 7has7 no effort of creation in it2 nor doth the nature of creation1 know the quiescent nature of ,brahma4 ,it is as the soundly sleeping soul knows no dream1 nor does the dreaming man know the state of sound sleep4 7,the nature of ,brahma is one of profound sleep1 and that of creation is no other than a dream74 #aj4 ,brahma is ever wakeful1 and the world is no other than a waking dream1 and the living liberated man knows1 the phenomenon as a reflexion of the noumenon in his tranquil understanding4 #aa4 ,the intelligent man well knows the true state of things in the world1 and holy men are as quiet in their souls as the autumnal sky with a moving cloud4 #ab4 ,the erroneous conception of one's egoism or personality1 and that of the existence of the world2 is like the impression of the relation of a battle1 preserved in one's memory or as pictured in his imaginations2 in both cases truth and falsehood are found to be blended together4 #ac4 ,the phenomena of the world1 which is neither exhibited in the divine spirit1 as an intrinsic or subjective part of itself nor has it a viewer 7or subjective framer7 for itself2 which is neither a vacuity nor even a solidity of its nature2 cannot be otherwise than an erroneous conception of the mind4 ,,chapter ,,xli4 ,,repose ,,in ,,one',s ,,essential ,,nature4 ,argument3--,the enlightenment of the understanding1 accompanied by indifference and distaste of the world1 is the cause of removing the ego1 when looker1 looking or view of it1 is one the same4 ,vasishtha continued3--,it is absurd to find the sense of egoism or self personality1 so deeply rooted in human nature 7when the real ego of the divine soul1 is known to pervade all over the universe74 ,it is therefore right that you should extinguish this unnatural egoism of yours by correcting your own nature4 #b4 ,this is done by enlightenment of the understanding1 accompanied by indifference and distaste of the world2 which are associated with one another as the orb of the sun with its light4 #c4 ,there is no making or maker or act of this world1 nor any looker1 looking or view of it2 this stupendous world is altogether inadmissible1 it being but a picture on the plane of vacuum4 #d4 ,there is nothing prominent in it 7as it appears to the naked eye72 but all is situated on a perfect level1 which is the calm intellect of one unvarying ,brahma4 #e4 ,the divine soul exhibits the wonders of its ,intellect1 in the variegated colours of its imaginations2 and there is no body who can count the pictures of worlds1 which are painted on the plane of the infinite space of vacuity4 #f4 ,all these aerial bodies which are countless as the flying atoms1 are continually in the act of dancing and playing their parts in the open arena of ,brahma2 as the players exhibit their various passions and emotions and gestures and gesticulations in a theatre4 #g4 ,the seasons are dancing in circles with their towering heads1 and the points of compass are turning rotund with their encircling arms2 the lower region is the platform of this stage1 and the upper sky is the awning stretched on high4 7,the great vacuum is the stage1 and all the worlds are as players in it74 #h4 ,the sun and moon are the two playful and rolling eyes1 and the twinkling stars are glistening hair on their bodies2 the seven regions of air are the members of the body1 and the clear and all investing firmament1 is the clean apparel on it4 #i4 ,the encircling seas about the islands1 are as bracelets and wristlets round their arms2 and the girding mountains of lands1 are as girdles around their loins2 the fleeting airs are as the winds of their breath1 which are constantly breathing to sustain lives of living beings1 and support their bodies thereby 7i4e4 by the vital breath74 #aj4 ,the flowers1 groves and forests form the wreathed decorations on their persons2 the sayings of the sstras--vedas and purnas1 are their recitations1 the ceremonial acts are their action1 and the results of their actions 7viz4 happiness and misery71 are the parts that all have to play 7in the theatre of the world74 #aa4 ,thus is all this but a dance of puppet show presented before us1 with the sport of the waters gliding with the fluidity of ,brahma1 and the oscillation of the playful breezes4 #ab4 ,the cause of causes1 is the cause of unnatural 7unquiet7 movements of bodies2 and it is the ever wakeful intellect1 that remains sleepless in the sleeping state of nature1 and is waking awakener of dreams in the swapnavastha or hypnotic state of man4 #ac4 ,do you remain1 ,o ,rma6 thus sleepless in your sleeping state1 and reflect on the nature of things as you see them in your dream4 ,be steady when you are awake1 and never be drowned in your sleep nor deceived by your beguiling dreams 7swap--,persian khwb means sleep as well as dream74 #ad4 ,the waking which has the semblance of sound sleep and has no liking nor cringing for anything2 is said to be the idiosyncrasy of man by the wise and the harbinger of human liberation4 #ae4 ,the living liberated man1 sees his ,god as diffused throughout the universe2 and not as the cause or instrument of its causation2 and neither as witness of its sight4 ,he does not leave to look on the outward phenomena1 nor think of the inward noumenon that has displayed the whole4 #af4 ,he sees the world shining in and with the glory of ,god1 and beholds it fair and perfect with the beauty and perfection of the ,deity4 7,these so wondrous fair1 thyself how wondrous then6 ,milton74 #ag4 ,viewed in the reality of ,brahma1 the unreal world becomes a reality2 it seems then to be as tranquil as the nature of ,god1 and the creation is seen in himself till at last all is lost in the womb of a void--vacuum1 as it were hid in the hollow cavern of a rock4 #ah4 ,the universe seems as womb of a luminous gem1 and though it is thickly peopled everywhere1 yet it is as void as empty air2 it is a nil and ens at the same time1 and as something and nothing of itself4 7,here is a play of antithetical words and attributes applied to the world74 #ai4 ,it is in esse and in posse to the minds of many1 but to one who bears no duplicity in his mind1 it appears as an extended reflexion of the infinite mind of ,one4 #bj4 ,as an imaginary city1 never disappears from the imagination2 so the reflexion never vanishes from the mind of ,god2 wherein all things are present at all times4 #ba4 ,as the glistening gold glitters with and scatters its rays all around1 without changing or wasting itself2 so ,brahma appearing to shine in his creation1 is yet quiet and undecaying in himself4 #bb4 ,the phenomenal world ever continues the same1 though it is subject to incessant productions and destructions of all beings2 it appears as unproduced and indestructible1 and as various and variegated as the very many beings in it4 #bc4 ,brahm is seated in his impenetrable tranquility and in the form of the rising world1 without ever rising or setting himself2 ,he is as free and void as vacuity and without any nature or property of his own1 and is known to the enlightened understanding4 ,,chapter ,,xlii4 ,a ,,lecture ,,on ,,nirv,,na--,,extinction4 ,argument3--,a full exposition of the identity of ,god and the world1 and the adorableness of our soul as one with ,god4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the mind being as calm and quiet as the ,intellect1 there can be no difference between them2 and it is impossible to assign the creation to the divine mind1 in its undeveloped and tranquil state4 7,the difference of the mind and intellect1 consists in their activity and inactivity74 #b4 ,the lighted lamp of the understanding being extinguished1 the erroneous conceptions of the world vanishes into the air2 and the ocular vision and mental operations1 are as undulations of consciousness4 7i4e4 ,the conscious acts through all the sensible organs1 mental faculties and bodily members74 #c4 ,the world bears the same relation to the supreme soul1 as the fluctuation of the winds bear to air1 and as the radiation of rays bears to light1 which have no other causality except in themselves4 #d4 ,the world is inherent in the ,supreme1 as fluidity is connate with water1 and vacuity is connatural with air4 ,but why and how they are so intimately connected with one another1 is quite inconceivable to us4 #e4 ,the world which is thus immanent in the vast vacuity of the great intellect1 is manifest to our minds as brilliancy in a gem4 7,the appearance of light or lustre in a gem is no other than a property of them itself74 #f4 ,the world therefore appertains to the supreme intellect1 in the same manner1 as liquidity is related with water and fluctuation pertains to air1 and as vacuity belongs to the infinite void4 #g4 ,as ventilation has its relation with air1 so doth the world bear upon the supreme intellect2 so there is no reason of supposing a duality to subsist in the unity of any two of these4 #h4 ,the world is manifest to the sight of the ignorant1 but it is frail and nebulous in the estimation of the intelligent4 ,it is however neither manifest nor mysterious to the sapient1 who believe it as an existence subsisting in the entity of the self-existent unity4 #i4 ,it is well ascertained 7in every system of philosophy71 that there is nothing else in existence1 beside the sole intellect1 which is pure intelligence1 and having no beginning1 middle or end of it4 #aj4 ,this is the great intellect of some1 and the holy spirit of others2 it is the eternally omniscient ,brahma according to some1 and the infinite void or vacuum of vacuists4 ,it is also called jnapti--knowledge or science by scientists4 #aa4 ,now people understand this infinite and intellectual spirit1 in the sense of an intelligible being2 while others suppose him as knowable in themselves1 and thus trying to know1 become quite ignorant of him4 #ab4 ,without the intellect there is no knowledge of the intelligibles1 neither is there the faculty of intellection unless there be the intellect2 as there is no air without vacuum1 nor is there any air without its ventilation4 #ac4 ,so it is the shadow of the great intellect1 that makes our consciousness to perceive the existence of the world2 and whether the world is an entity or non-entity1 there is no other cause of its knowledge than the intellect4 #ad4 ,it is owing to the unity of this duality 7viz of the world and the spirit71 that this sense of their identity is verified2 nor is there any one who can make unity or duality the all pervading vacuity4 #ae4 ,there is but one universal concavity1 of the whole sphere of the vacuous sky1 and the dualism of the air and its fluctuations1 is only in words and nominal and not in reality4 #af4 ,the duality of the universe and its universal ,lord1 is a mere verbal and no real distinction of the one positive unity of ,god4 ,it is impossible for the self-existent soul to have a counterpart of itself1 except its own intellect4 #ag4 ,that which has the appearances of the world1 is no world in reality1 but a shadow of it2 and that which is limited by space and time1 cannot be the infinite and external sphere4 #ah4 ,as the different forms of jewels1 are related to the substance of gold 7out of which they are made71 so doth the world bear its relation to ,brahma2 whose unity admits of neither duality1 nor the attribute of cause and effect 7i4e4 of the creator and creation74 #ai4 ,if it be only a creation of the imagination1 it is then no other than a nothing and no such thing2 it is just as well as the vacuity of the firmament1 and the fluidity of water and liquids4 #bj4 ,as the sky bears the appearance of the sky1 so doth ,brahma present the sight of the world2 and both of them being of the same kind 7of vacuum71 there can be no duality nor unity of the two in one4 #ba4 ,all these are of the like kind1 as the vast vacuum of itself2 they are selfsame in their nature with the one all extended and transparent essence of the interminable intellect of ,god4 #bb4 ,as all pebbles and dolls and marble statues1 have the stony substance in them2 and there is no relation of cause or effect in anyone of them1 so these varieties of beings have no difference in them from the nature of divine essence4 #bc4 ,as it is impossible for vacuity to be another thing than vacuum1 and the reflexion of light is no other than the very light2 so this creation resides in and radiates from the great intellect4 #bd4 ,as the images carved in a stone1 are of the same sort being hewn of the same substance2 so ,o wise ,rma1 all these various forms of things in the world1 are lost upon their insight1 into the substantiality of the all engrossing intellect of the great ,deity4 #be4 ,it is the delusion of your mind1 that presents to your sight all this bustle and commotion of the world1 which upon your right inspection of them1 must remain as mute and motionless as a block of wood or stone1 and as imperceptible as the prospect of things to a man with his closed eyes4 #bf4 ,as things absent from sight1 appear to be present before one in his thought of them1 both in his waking and sleeping states2 so it is the misconception of the mind1 that presents the phenomenals to the sight of the open-eyed man4 #bg4 ,as it is by the hallucination of your mind1 that you see the absent objects as present before you1 both when you are awake as well as asleep2 but suppress your thoughts1 and you will be as inert as a stone1 as in the abstracted and sound sleeping states of your mind4 #bh4 ,you must not however allow your mind1 become as insensible as a stone2 but remain in your natural state and employ it in the service of your adorable object1 with the best offerings of your reason on all things about you4 #bi4 ,adore the ,supreme ,god of nature2 for the enlargement of your understanding2 and ,he being worshipped with your right reason and good sense1 will soon reward you with the best boon of your transcendent felicity--neratisaynanda4 #cj4 ,the adoration of ,indra1 ,upendro and the other gods1 is as the worshipping rotten straws with respect to that of the ,god in spirit2 and the offering of flowers and sacrifices1 are nothing in comparison to your cultivation of reason1 and association with wise and learned men4 #ca4 ,the ,supreme ,god who is the giver of all blessings1 being worshipped in the true light of the spirit in one's own soul1 confers his best blessing of liberation in an instant4 #cb4 ,why does the ignorant man resort to another1 when his soul is the sole lord2 ,do you associate with the good and have your equanimity and content1 and adore the ,supreme soul with your best reason4 #cc4 ,the worship of idols1 pilgrimages and all sorts of devotion1 together with all your charities1 are as useless as the offering of scentless ,sirisha flowers1 and injurious as fire1 poison and the wounds of weapons are to the body4 #cd4 ,the actions of mean minded men1 are as useless as ashes on account of their unreasonableness2 let them therefore act with reason in order to render their deeds fruitful4 #ce4 ,why therefore don't you foster your reasoning powers in your mind1 by means of your knowledge of the true natures of things1 and the concentration of your desires in the ,supreme spirit4 #cf4 ,it is by divine grace only1 that the reasoning faculty has its exercise in the mind1 therefore the power of reasoning is to be fostered in the mind1 by sprinkling the ambrosial water of equanimity over it4 #cg4 ,until the fountain of error in the mind1 is dried up by the blaze of right knowledge1 so long the tendency towards the corporeal1 continues to run over it in all directions4 #ch4 ,equanimity overcomes the sense of shame1 sorrow1 fear and envy2 as the conviction of the nihility of the world and all corporeal things1 removes the possibility of their existence at any time4 7,according to the dictum--nyya1--nsato vidyate vba4 ,ex nihilo nihil fit nothing comes from nothing74 #ci4 ,and if it be the work of a cause1 it must be the selfexistent ,brahma that both at once2 as the reflexion is alike the reflector1 and the reflected knowledge of a pot or picture is nothing in reality4 7,the effect is akin to the cause agreeably to the maxim 8similes similibus074 #dj4 ,know this world to be the shadow of the intellect1 as one's feature is seen within a mirror2 but the idea of the shadow of both1 vanishes when one acquainted with the original4 #da4 ,for want of the knowables or objects of objective knowledge1 there remains the only unknowable ,one1 who is of the form of everlasting felicity2 and this soul of the incorporeal spirit1 is extended all over the infinite space in its form of perfect tranquility4 #db4 ,all knowledge1 knowable and knowing1 are said to be quite mute and silent in their nature 7being confined in the mind72 therefore it behoves you to remain as quiet and calm1 as stones and pebbles and the caverns of rocks4 #dc4 ,remain as knowing and wise man1 both when you are sitting or doing anything2 because wise men are persons who know the unknown1 and personifications of true knowledge4 #dd4 ,remain as clear as the sphere of the sky1 and be content with whatever may happen to you2 when you are sitting quiet1 or moving about or doing anything1 and in every state of your life4 #de4 ,it is for wise men to be doing what they have to do1 and whatever comes in their way2 or to give up and renounce all and everything1 and remain with their quiet and peaceful minds at every place4 #df4 ,whether sitting in solitude or in silent meditation1 let the wise man remain as quiet as a statue or a picture2 and having repressed his imagination1 let him view the world as an imaginary city or an airy nothing4 #dg4 ,the waking wise man sees the rising world1 as sitting down in his state of sleep2 and let him view the spectacles before his eyes1 as the born-blind man has no sight of anything before him4 #dh4 ,the ignorant man resorting to his nirvna1 has more cause of regret than the peace of his mind1 at his renunciation of the world2 and the preaching of bon-ideals serves rather to increase their ignorance1 than enlighten in the path of truth4 #di4 ,the ignorant man who thinks himself wise in his own conceit1 is deluded to greater ignorance1 by thinking himself successful with his ill success4 #ej4 ,the man comes to meet with his ill success1 who strives to thrive by improper means2 because the learned reckon all fanciful steps1 as no steps at all to successfulness4 #ea4 ,it is wrong to resort to nirvna-resignation1 on account of some transitory mishap which ever happens to humanity4 ,but that is known as true resignation by the wise1 which a man has recourse to after his full knowledge of the errors of the world1 and the indifference which he lays hold upon1 at his entire disgust with and distaste of all worldly affairs4 #eb4 ,rma1 as you are delighted at the recital of tales1 so should you take a pleasure in your spiritual instructions1 with a melted heart and mind2 unless you know the transparent intellect1 and view it as diffused in the form of the infinite world1 you cannot attain to your nirvna-extinction into it4 #ec4 ,the knowledge of ,god1 that you have gained from the vedas1 is sheer ignorance1 and resembles the false notion of the world1 that is born blind on earth4 ,trample over that knowledge1 and do not fall into its errors2 but know ,god in spirit1 and by your nirvna-extinction into it1 be exempt from future births and transmigrations4 ,,chapter ,,xliii4 ,,on ,,the ,,infinite ,,extension ,,of ,,brahma4 ,argument3--,the mind likened to the fairy land1 full with the world of its ignorance2 and these being rubbed out from it1 there remains but an infinite expanse of the essence of one ,brahma only4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the internal sense of egoism and the outward perception of the world1 vanishes into unreality upon right inspection of them2 and then truth of self-consciousness appears even to the dull headed after removal of their dulness4 #b4 ,he who is freed from the fever of ignorance1 and whose soul is cooled by the draught of good understanding1 is known by the indication1 that they bear no further thirst for worldly enjoyments4 #c4 ,it is useless to use many words by way of logomachy1 when the knowledge of one's unegoism only1 is enough to lead him to the nirvna-extinction of himself4 #d4 ,as waking men do not relish the pleasure of things seen in their dream1 so wise people feel no zest either for themselves or the world1 which they know to be as erroneous as the sight in their sleep4 #e4 ,as one sees the chimera of a magic city in a forest1 and filled with the families of ,yakshas all about2 so doth the living soul1 look upon this world and all its contents4 #f4 ,as the deluded soul sees the ,yakshas and their place of abode1 as realities and stable in their nature2 so it believes its egoism or personality as a reality1 and the unreal world as a substantiality4 #g4 ,as the phantoms of ,yakshas are seen with their false shapes in the open desert1 so we see all these creatures in the fourteen worlds around us4 #h4 ,he who knows himself as nothing1 and the knowledge of his ego a mere error2 finds his phantasm of ,yaksha to be no such thing in reality2 and that of his mind melts into the predicament of his intellect 7i4e4 both of them to be the one and same thing74 #i4 ,be you as quiet in your mind1 as you are sitting still before us2 by relinquishing all your fears and fancies1 and renouncing all your givings and takings 7to and from all persons71 together with the suppression of all your desires4 #aj4 ,the visible phenomenon is neither in esse nor in posse1 and the whole extent of the objective world1 is identic with the subjective spirit of ,god2 or if it be impossible for the subjective reality to become the objective unreality1 say then how the objective could come to being or exist4 #aa4 ,as it is the humidity of the vernal season1 that produces and diffuses itself in the verdure of the ground2 so it is the pith and marrow of the intellect1 which fills and exhibits itself in the form of creation4 #ab4 ,if this appearance of the world1 is no other than reflection of the intellect2 why then speak of its unity or duality than knowing its identity with the sole entity1 and holding your peace and tranquility4 #ac4 ,be full with the vacuous intellect1 and drink the sweet beverage of spirituality 7i4e4 be an intellectual and spiritual being72 and sit without any fear and full of joy in the blissful paradise of nirvna-extinction4 #ad4 ,why do ye men of erroneous understandings1 rove about in the desert ground of this earth like the vagrant stags1 that wander about the sandy deserts 7appearing as sheets of sweet water74 #ae4 ,o ye men of blinded understandings6 ,why do ye run so hurriedly with your insatiable thirst after the mirage of the world2 only to be disappointed in your most sanguine expectations4 #af4 ,why do ye1 ,o foolish men6 thirst after the mirage of the appearances and the fancies of your minds2 do not waste your lives in vain toils1 nor fall victims to your desires like the deluded deer4 #ag4 ,demolish the magic castle of worldly enticements1 by the stronger power of your reason2 and see how you can destroy the train of evils1 which appear as pleasure at the first sight4 7,all apparent good is latent evil74 #ah4 ,do not look at the blue vault of heaven as a reality by thy error1 it is a mere show amidst the great void of ,brahma1 wherefore thou shouldst fix the sight on its true aspect of vacuity 7which is the real form of ,brahma74 #ai4 ,o ye men that are as frail and fickle and liable to fall down1 as the tremulous dewdrop hanging on the edge of a leaf on high2 do not sleep regardless of your fates1 in the womb of this frail and mortal world 7or in this world of mortality74 #bj4 ,remain always from first to last1 in your true nature of calmness1 without ever being unmindful of thyself2 and remove the faults of the subjective and objective from thy nature4 #ba4 ,the world known as a reality to the ignorant1 is an utter nihility to the wise2 the other one which is the true reality bears no name for itself 7being called a nullity and void74 #bb4 ,break the iron fetters of appetency1 which bind you fast in this world2 and rise high above the heaven of heavens1 as the lion mounts on the towering tops of mountains1 by breaking loose from his imprisoning cage by force4 #bc4 ,the knowledge of self and meity 7or selfishness7 is an error1 and it is the peace of mind only which makes liberation2 it is the essence of the yogi1 wherever and however he may be situated4 #bd4 ,the weary pilgrim of the world1 has the following five stages for his rest2 namely his nirvna or self resignation1 his nirvsana want of any desire1 and the absence of his triple sorrow-tritpa2 occasioned by his own fault and those of others1 and the course of nature4 #be4 ,the wise man is unknown to the ignorant1 and the ignorant are not known to the wise2 and the world is viewed in two opposite lights by them respectively1 which are quite unknown to one another4 7,namely1 that it is a vale of tears to one1 and a pleasure garden to the other4 ,the one of the school of ,heraclitus or the crying philosopher1 and of that of ,democritus the laughing philosopher74 #bf4 ,the fallacy of the world having once fallen off from the mind1 there is no more the appearance of any worldly thing before it2 as a seafarer seeing one vast expanse of water about him1 does not see the inland arms which gush out of it as its offspring4 #bg4 ,after disappearance of the error of the world1 from the awakened mind of the anaesthetic yogi2 he sits quite insensible of it1 as if it were melt into eternity4 #bh4 ,as the grass and straws being burnt to ashes1 we know not whether they fly and vanish away with the winds of the air2 so the nature of the sage being numbed to callousness1 his knowledge of the world goes to nothing4 #bi4 ,it is good to know the world1 as the ectype of the essence of ,brahma2 but the meaning of the word ,brahma1 being the universal soul1 it does not apply in that sense to the changing world1 and as the work of ,god4 #cj4 ,as the world appears to be everlasting and unchanging to the ignorant lad1 so doth it seem to the listless sage to be co-existent with its eternal cause 7to whom everything is eternally present74 #ca4 ,the wakeful sage keeps his vigils at that time1 when it is the night of all beings to lie down in sleep2 and the daytime when all creation is awake1 is the night of retired saints4 7,the wise and ignorant are opposed to one another in their knowledge of things74 #cb4 ,the wise man is active in his mind1 while he seems to be sitting still and inactive in his body2 and when he is waking1 his organs of sense are as dormant as those of figures in a painting4 #cc4 ,the wise man is as blind as one who is born blind1 in his knowledge of the outer world1 and has merely a faint notion of it in his mind2 where it appears or not at times1 like a dream in his slight and sound sleep 7swapna and susupti74 #cd4 ,all the worlds and worldly things1 conduce to the woe of the ignorant1 who are unacquainted with and delight in untruth1 and are busy with the visibles and their thoughts about them1 as one with the visions in his dream4 #ce4 ,as the wise man tastes no pleasure in his waking state1 so must he remain insensible of them in his sleep also2 but continue with undivided attention1 in the meditation of the ,supreme being4 #cf4 ,the wise man who has curbed his desire of worldly enjoyments1 and is liberated from its bonds2 remains with his cool and composed mind1 and enjoys the tranquility of nirvna1 without his efforts of yoga meditation4 #cg4 ,as the course of water is always to run downward1 and never to rise upward2 so the course of the mind is ever toward the objects of sense1 and sensible objects are the only delight of the mind4 #ch4 ,the nature of the mind1 with all its thoughts of internal and external objects1 is of the same kind as that of the great ocean1 which is full with the waters of its tributary rivers as well as those of the internal waters4 #ci4 ,as a river flows in one united course1 of the waters of all its confluent streams2 so doth the mind run in an unvaried course1 with all its internal and external1 and righteous and unrighteous thoughts4 #dj4 ,thus the mind appears as a vast and wide extended sea1 and rolling on with all its indistinct thoughts and feelings1 as the inseparable waters and waves of the sea4 #da4 ,in this manner1 the absence of one thing causes the extinction of both1 as in the case of the air and its fluctuation2 either of which being wanting1 there is neither the wind nor its ventilation4 7,such is the intimate connection between the mind and its thought74 #db4 ,the mind and its working being one and the samething1 they are both controuled at once by bringing the other under subjection2 know this well1 nobody should cherish any earthly desire in order to foster his mind4 #dc4 ,the mind may get its peace by true knowledge1 and the mind of the wise man is destroyed of itself with all its desires1 without the aid of austerities to destroy them4 #dd4 ,as a man gets freed from the fear of the enmity of an enemy1 by destroying his effigy made of mud by himself1 so is one enabled to kill his mind1 by committing himself to the ,divine spirit4 #de4 ,the wise man sees the cosmos and chaos as concomitant with each other1 though appear as separate4 ,the birth and death as well as prosperity and adversity are mere error1 there is nothing else beside one infinity4 #df4 ,as one has no knowledge of the dream of another sleeping by his side1 and as the adult man has no fear of yaksha like timid boy2 and as a giant knows no ,pisacha or demon1 so the wise sees no insensible world before him 7but all full of the ,intellect of ,god74 #dg4 ,the ignorant think the wise as fools1 and the old barren woman thinks of her conception2 so one unacquainted with the meaning of a word1 attempts to explain its sense 7all which is absurd74 #dh4 ,the understanding is ever existent1 and without having its beginning and end2 and nature is known to exist ever since creation has began4 ,the word mind is meaningless and is undivided and unbounded in its nature4 7,the mind or understanding is everlasting but nature is not so74 #di4 ,the understanding resembles the water of the sea1 and the mind and intelligence are likened to its limpid waves2 how can this fluid have an end1 and what is the meaning of mind1 but a shape of this psychic fluid4 7,here is a similarity of ,vasishtha's intellectual liquid to ,stahl's psychic fluid74 #ej4 ,for all error is useless1 and live to your nature for your good2 and being of the nature of pure understanding1 you will become as perspicacious as the clear autumnal sky4 7,here is ,vasishtha's vacuism again as the ultimate perfection of men74 #ea4 ,after passing the three states of waking1 dreaming and deep sleep 7to the fourth state of turya or nirvna insensibility71 there is nomore any perception of the mind or mental operation to the abstracted yogi2 and then the knowledge of the endless varieties of unrealities of creation1 is blown away and lost in the sight of the everlasting ,one4 #eb4 ,forsake the endless chain of knowables1 and be attached to thy nature of the solid intellect2 because all things whether internal or external1 are comprehended under its knowledge4 #ec4 ,say how can you separate the objects from the mind1 as you do the seed1 branches and fruits from one another2 the knowables are unknowable without their knowledge1 and knowledge is no known category 7apart from the mind74 #ed4 ,the endless varieties and particulars are still and quiet in the ,divine soul1 which is the only entity and manifest of itself as all4 ,the objects being but ideas in the mind and this being a negative also1 they are all but errors of the brain4 7,the mind and its objective ideas being dependent to and identic with one another1 the conception of them is altogether erroneous74 #ee4 ,the mind which is the framer of objective thoughts1 is a nihility of itself and an error also4 ,the eternal spirit being the sole soul of all1 it is useless to imagine the entity of the mind4 #ef4 ,the objective being an erroneous notion1 is but a false apparition appearing to sight1 the objects also having no cause for their creation1 prove the subjective mind to be a falsity likewise4 #eg4 ,the mind is as fickle as the flickering lightning1 and deludes us by the flashes of things of its own making4 #eh4 ,the mind is nothing before knowledges of the self-existence ,one1 nor does it then deceive us with its false shows2 and this world which is the creation of the mind1 disappears before the knowledge of the soul4 #ei4 ,men in vain wish to take the shell for silver1 and believe the negative world as a positive one1 and is found to be nothing before the light of reason4 #fj4 ,the error of egoism is opposed to the verity of nirvna1 and is the cause of misery only to mankind2 the ego is verily a falsity as mirage1 and a non-entity as vacuity itself4 #fa4 ,the knowledge of the self or soul1 removes the error of egoism2 and by knowing and being full with the knowledge of the soul1 one is incorporated with it1 both internally as well as externally4 #fb4 ,one who is unified with the universal soul1 resembles a wave that mixes altogether with the main water2 because the ,divine soul sends its essence to all1 as a tree supplies its marrow to all parts of it from top to foot4 #fc4 ,there is one unchanging soul1 that shines afar above the reach of our knowledge2 in the same manner as the clear vault of heaven1 appears at the distance of millions of miles from us4 #fd4 ,there is only one unknowable and infinite ,being1 that is far beyond our knowledge of the knowables1 and is purer and more rarefied than the all pervading vacuum4 #fe4 ,therefore knowing that pure and holy ,one1 as both the states of knowledge and knowables 7i4e4 the subjective and objective72 just as the clarified butter is consolidated to the compactness of stone4 7,the soul is solidified to matter74 #ff4 ,the ,divine intellect makes itself the object of its thought as a thinkable being2 and the soul thinks in itself as the mind1 from eternity to eternity1 throughout the infinity of space4 7,the soul reflects in itself1 as the congeries of all things of its omniscience74 #fg4 ,the unintelligent ,nyya ,school maintains the unity and positive rest of ,god2 and although there may be no mistake of theirs in this position1 yet it is wrong to separate omniscience from the entity of ,divine unity4 #fh4 ,all great minded souls that are free from pride1 melt away into the inscrutable quiescence of ,god2 and those that unerring in divine knowledge1 find their eternal rest in the samdhi or resignation of themselves to the ,supreme spirit4 ,,chapter ,,xliv4 ,,dangers ,,to ,,which ,,the ,,wandering 7,,staglike7 ,,mind ,,is ,,exposed4 ,argument3--,the tree of samdhi2 its roots and filaments1 its leaves and branches1 its blossoms and flowers1 its barks and fruits1 its piths and marrows1 its heights and moistures4 ,rma said3--,relate to me at length1 ,o holy sage1 the form of the arbour of samdhi1 together with all its creepers1 flowers and fruits1 which supply holy men with good and refreshment1 all along their lives4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,hear me relate to you about the tree of samdhi1 which always grows in the forest of holy people1 and is ever fraught with its luxuriant foliage and flowers and its luscious fruits4 #c4 ,the learned say1 that it is some how or other1 either by culture or its own spontaneity1 that there grows a dissatisfaction with the wilderness of this world1 in the heart of the reasonable man4 #d4 ,its field is the heart of the wise man1 furrowed by the plough of prosperity 7i4e4 which has had better fortune72 which is watered with delight by day and night1 and whose conduit is now flowing with sighs4 #e4 ,it is the heart's regret at the world1 which is the seed of samdhi or self-resignation2 and it grows of itself in the ground of the contrite heart of the wise1 in the forest land of reasonable men4 #f4 ,when the seed of contrite reflection1 falls in the minds of magnanimous men2 it must be watered with diligence and indefatigableness with the following articles4 viz3-- #g4 ,the society of pure1 holy and complacent men1 who speak sweetly and kindly for the good of others2 and whose speech serves as the sprinkling of fresh water or milk or dewdrops on the seeding grounds4 #h4 ,and by shedding the sacred waters of the sayings of the holy sstras1 all about the aqueduct1 which may serve to grow the seed1 by their cool and ambrosial moisture4 #i4 ,when the magnanimous soul1 perceives the seed of contrite reflection fallen in the mind2 he must try to preserve and foster the same with all diligence4 #aj4 ,this seed is to be grown by the manure of austerities1 and by the power of using other means2 by resorting to and resting in places of pilgrimage and holy shrines1 and by stretching his perseverance as his defence 7or a fence about the seed-ground74 #aa4 ,it is the duty of the well taught man1 after the sprouting forth of the seed1 to preserve it always with the assistance of his two consorts--contentment and cheerfulness4 #ab4 ,he should then keep off the aerial birds of his expectations and the fowls of his affection for others1 and the vultures of his desire and cupidity1 from darting upon and picking up the seed4 #ac4 ,then the rajas or dust of vanity1 is to swept away 7from this field71 by gentle acts of piety1 serving as sweepers of vice and unrighteousness2 and then the tamas or shades of ignorance are to be dispelled from this ground1 by the ineffable light of the sun of reason--viveka4 #ad4 ,wealth and women1 and all sorts of frail and fleeting enjoyments2 overtake this rising germ 7of godliness71 as darts of lightning issuing from the cloud of unrighteousness4 #ae4 ,it is by the iron rod of patience and gravity1 by the muttering of mantras1 and by holy ablutions and austerities1 as also by the trident of the triliteral ,om1 that these thunderbolts are averted4 #af4 ,in this manner the seed of meditation also1 being carefully preserved from neglect1 sprouts forth in the germ of discrimination 7viveka7 with its handsome and thriving appearance4 #ag4 ,the ground of the mind shines brightly1 with this brilliant germ2 and it gladdens the hearts of men in veneration to it1 as the smiling moon-beams illume the sky4 #ah4 ,this germ shoots forth in a couple of leaves1 which grow out of themselves upon it2 one of them is the knowledge of sstras1 and the other is the society of the good and wise4 7i4e4 ,divine knowledge is to be gained from the study of scriptures1 and attendance to the lectures of learned men74 #ai4 ,let your fixedness support the stem and height of this tree1 and make your patience its covering bark2 and cause your unconcernedness with the world1 supply it with the moisture of indifference4 #bj4 ,the tree of godliness being nourished with the moisture of unworldliness1 and watered by the rain water of sstras1 attains its full height in course of a short time4 #ba4 ,being thickened by the pith of divine knowledge1 and marrow of good society1 and the moisture of indifference1 this tree attains a fixity1 which is not to be shaken by the apes of passions and affections4 #bb4 ,and then this tree shoots forth in luxuriant branches of wisdom1 which stretches far and wide with their fresh verdure and virescent leaves1 distilling their juicy sweets all around4 #bc4 ,these are the branches of frankness and truth1 of constancy and firmness1 of equanimity and unchangeableness1 of calmness and amicableness1 and of kindness1 self-respect and renown4 #bd4 ,these branches are again adorned with the leaves of peace and tranquility1 and studded with flowers of good repute and fame2 wherewith this tree of godliness becomes the prijta 7or the arbour of paradise or ,parnassus7 to the hermits of the forests4 #be4 ,in this manner the tree of divine knowledge1 being fraught with its branches1 leaves and flowers2 brings for the best and richest fruits of knowledge1 day by day 7during the life time of its possessor74 #bf4 ,it blossoms in clusters of the flowers of fame1 and is covered with leaves of bright qualities all over2 it is profluent with the sweets of dispassionateness2 and its filaments are full of the dust of intelligence4 #bg4 ,it cools all sides like clouds in the rainy weather1 and always the heat of worldly anxieties1 as the moon-beams assuage the warmth of sun-shine4 #bh4 ,it spreads the awning shade of harmony1 as the clouds cast a cooling shadow below2 it stretches a quiet composure over the mind 7chitta-vritti nirodha71 as an extensive cloud overspreads a still calm in the air4 #bi4 ,it builds a sound and sure basis for itself1 as the rocks stand on their solid bases2 it lays the foundation of future rewards on high1 and causes all blessings to attend upon it4 #cj4 ,as the arbour of discrimination1 grows higher and higher day by day2 so it stretches a continuity of cooling shade1 over the forest of the hearts of men4 #ca4 ,it diffuses a coldness1 that pacifies the heat below2 and makes the plant of the understanding to shoot forth 7develop71 as a tender creeper juts out of the snows4 #cb4 ,the deerlike mind being tired with its wanderings1 about the deserts of this world2 takes its rest and refuge under this cool shade2 as a weary traveller1 worried out from his very birth1 in his journey among men1 comes to take his rest at last4 #cc4 ,this deer of the mind1 that is galled in its mouth by browsing the thorny brambles of the forest for food1 is again hunted by its enemies of the passions1 which lay waiting like huntsmen1 to kill the soul1 as these slay the body of the stag for its skin4 #cd4 ,the deerlike mind being ever impelled by its vain desires1 wanders all about the desert land of this world1 and pursues after the poisonous water of mirage of its egoism4 #ce4 ,it sees the extended and verdant valley at distance1 and is battered and shattered in its body with running after its verdure2 and being harassed in search of the food and forage for its offspring1 it falls headlong into the pit for its destruction4 #cf4 ,being robbed of his fortune1 and put to bodily troubles1 and led by thirst of gain to the ever running stream of desires1 the man is at last swallowed up and carried away by the current waves4 #cg4 ,the man flies afar for fear of being overtaken by a disease1 as the stag does for fear of a huntsman1 but he is not afraid of the hunter of fate1 that falls upon him unawares at every place4 #ch4 ,the timid mind is afraid of the shafts of adverse fortune1 flying from every known quarter2 and of being pelt by stones flung from the hands of its enemies on every side4 #ci4 ,the mind is ever hurled up and down1 with the ups and downs of fortune2 and is continually crushed under the millstone of his rising and setting passions 7of anger and hatred c474 #dj4 ,one who follows after thirst1 without putting reliance on the laws inculcated by the great1 falls headlong into the delusion of the world2 as one suffers a scratch is well as wound over his body1 by penetrating within the beautiful thorny creepers4 #da4 ,having entered in the organic body of man1 the mind is eager to fly away from it2 but there is the ungovernable elephant of earthy desire1 that stuns it with its loud shrieks 7on its way74 #db4 ,there is again the huge snake of worldly affairs1 which benumbs it with its poisonous breath2 and so do the fairies on the face of the earth1 serve to enslave the mind in love to them4 #dc4 ,there is also the wild fire of anger1 which boils like a smart bile with its burning flame in the human breast2 and inflames the mind with endless pain1 by its repeated recurrence in the bosom4 #dd4 ,the desires clinging to the mind1 are as gnats and fleas1 biting and stinging it constantly2 and its carnal enjoyments1 appetites and revelries1 are as shakals shrieking loudly about it4 #de4 ,it is led by virtue of its actions1 to wander all about without any rest or profit to its self1 and driven from place to place by the tiger like poverty1 staring grimly at its face1 again it is blinded amidst the mist of its affections to children and others1 and lost at last in the hidden pitfall of death4 #df4 ,again it trembles with the sense of and fear for its honor1 which like a lion strikes tremor in its heart2 while it is struck with terror at the glaring of the wolf of death at its face4 #dg4 ,it is afraid of pride1 as a forester in dread of dragon coming to devour him2 and it fears the appetites1 which with their open mouths and bloody teeth1 threaten to ingulph it in ruin4 #dh4 ,it is no less in fear of its female companions in youth1 whose amorous embraces like gusts of wind threaten to hurl it headlong to repeated hell-pits4 #di4 ,it seldom happens1 ,o prince6 that the deerlike mind finds its rests in the arbour of godliness2 as the living beings do1 when they come from darkness to day light4 7,it ought to be1 when they come from day light to repose at night74 #ej4 ,o ye hearers1 let your deerlike minds find that delight in the arbour of peace1 whose name even is not known to the ignorant1 who are deluded by their fickle and smiling fortunes1 resembling the oscillating smiles of flowers4 ,,chapter ,,xlv4 ,,continuation ,,of ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,deerlike ,,mind4 ,argument3--,description of the happiness1 attending upon the access of the mind to the arbour of ,godliness4 ,vasishtha continued3--,o destroyer of enemies6 the deerlike mind having found its rest in that sacred bower1 remains quite pleased with the same1 and never thinks of going to any other arbour4 #b4 ,in course of time1 the tree of discriminate knowledge1 brings forth its fruits2 which ripen gradually with the sweet substance of spiritual knowledge in the inside4 #c4 ,the deerlike mind sitting under the goodly tree of its meditation1 beholds its outstretching branches hanging downward1 with loads of the fruits of merit and virtue 7meaning its meritoriousness74 #d4 ,it sees people climbing in this tree1 with great persistence and pains2 in order to taste these sweet fruits in preference to all others 7because merit is preferable to reward74 #e4 ,worldly peoples decline to ascend the foot of the tree of knowledge1 but those who have mounted high upon it1 never think of ever coming down from the high position which they have attained4 #f4 ,for he who has ascended on the tree of reason or knowledge1 in order to taste its delicious fruits1 forgets the relish of his habitual food1 and forsakes the bondage of his former deserts1 as a snake casts aside his slough or skin4 #g4 ,the man who has risen to a high station1 looks at himself and smiles to think1 how miserly he has passed so long a period of his past life4 #h4 ,having then mounted on the branch of fellow feeling1 and putting down the snake of selfishness under his feet1 he seems to reign in himself1 as if he were the sole monarch over all4 #i4 ,as the digits of the moon decrease and disappear in the dark fortnight1 so the lotuses of his distress are lost in oblivion2 and the iron fetters of his thirst after greed are rubbed out day by day 7as he advances in his yoga74 #aj4 ,he heeds not what is unattainable1 nor cares about what is not obtained2 his mind is as bright as the clear moon light night1 and his heart is quite cold1 in all its passions and affections4 #aa4 ,he sits poring upon the sages of the scriptures1 and meditates in silence in their profound sense2 he observes with extensive view the course of nature1 from the highest and greatest objects to the mean and minute4 #ab4 ,looking at the aforesaid septuple ground of his past follies1 full with thick forests of poisonous fruits and flowers2 he sits smiling looking upon them in derision 7for having fled from their infection74 #ac4 ,having fled from the tree of death1 and alighted on that of life1 his aspiring mind like a flitting bird1 rises by degrees to its higher branches1 and there sits delighted as a prince in his elevated station4 #ad4 ,thence he looks down upon the family and friends1 and upon the wealth and property 7he has left behind72 as if they were the adjuncts of former life1 or as visions in his dream4 #ae4 ,he views with coldness his passions and feelings1 his fears1 hopes1 his errors and honors1 as actors 7dramatis personae71 acting their several parts in the drama of his life4 7,the world is a stage1 life a play1 and the passions are players in it74 #af4 ,the course of the world is as that of a rapid river1 running onward with its furious and mischievous current2 and laughing with its frothy breakers1 now swelling highland then sinking at once4 #ag4 ,he does not feel any craving for wealth1 wife or friends in his breast1 who lives dead to his feelings as an insensible corpse 7or forgets himself to a stone74 #ah4 ,his sight is fixed only on that single fruit on high1 which is the holy and conscious soul or intellect2 and with his sole object in his view1 he mounts high on the higher branches of this tree of life4 #ai4 ,he bears in his remembrance1 the blessings of the preceding step of his yoga meditation1 which is one fraught with the ambrosia of contentment2 he remains as content at the loss of his riches1 as he felt himself glad at their gain before4 #bj4 ,in the callings of his life1 as also to the calls of his private and public interest2 he is as displeased and annoyed1 as one who is untimely roused from his wholesome sleep4 #ba4 ,as a weary traveller fatigued with his long and tiresome journey1 longs for his rest from cessation of his labour2 so a man tired with his repeated journey through life by cause of his ignorance1 requires his respite in nirvna 7or extinction of the trouble and transmigration in this troublesome world74 #bb4 ,as a flame of fire is kindled by the wind of breath and without the help of fuel1 so let him kindle the flame of his soul within by the breath of respiration2 and be united with the ,supreme spirit4 #bc4 ,let him check per-force his yearning after anything1 which falls of itself before his sight2 although he is unable to prevent his wistful eye1 from falling upon it4 7,look on all things1 but long after nothing74 #bd4 ,having attained this great dignity1 which confers the fruits of best blessings on man1 the devotee arrives to the sixth stage of his devotion1 whose glory no language can describe4 #be4 ,whenever he happens to meet with some unexpected good1 which fortune presents unto him he feels a repugnance to it1 as the traveller is loathe to trust the mirage in a barren desert4 #bf4 ,the silent sage who is full with divine grace within himself1 attains to such a state of ineffable felicity2 as the weary and exhausted traveller finds in his sweet sleep1 over the bustle of the busy world4 #bg4 ,he--sage having arrived at this stage of his devotion1 advances towards this attainment of the fruit of spiritual bliss1 as an aerial siddha spirit has on its alighting on the ,mount ,meru1 or a bird of air on its dropping down on the top of a tree4 #bh4 ,here he forsakes all his thoughts and desires1 and becomes as free as the open air and sky2 and then he takes and tastes and eats and satiates himself1 with his feeding freely upon this fruit4 #bi4 ,it is the leaving off of every object of desire day by day1 and living the live long day with perfect composure with one's self2 that is termed the attainment of godliness or full perfection in life4 #cj4 ,the means of attaining to this state of perfection1 is the doing away with all distinctions and differentiations1 and remaining in perfect union and harmony with all and every thing2 this state of the mind is said by the learned1 to be the assimilation and approximation to the nature of ,god1 who is ever pure and the one and same in all from eternity to eternity4 #ca4 ,one disgusted at his desire of the world and its people1 and abandoning his desire of wife and family2 and forsaking his desire of acquiring riches1 can only find his rest in this blissful state4 #cb4 ,the ultimate union of both the intellect and its true knowledge 7i4e4 of both the subjective and objective7 in the ,supreme spirit2 serves to melt away all sense of distinction1 as the solar heat melts down the frozen snow4 #cc4 ,the nature of one who has known the truth1 is not comparable with the state of a bent bow1 which becomes straight after it is loosened2 but to that of a curvilinear necklace1 which retains its curvature1 even after it is let loose on the ground4 7i4e4 ,the true convert does not slide back1 like the back sliding hypocrite74 #cd4 ,as a statue is carved in wood or stone1 and stands expect to view in bas-relief therein2 so is the world manifest in the great pillar of the ,supreme spirit1 and is neither an entity nor nullity of itself4 #ce4 ,we cannot form any idea of it in the mind1 as to how the material subsists in the immaterial spirit2 nor is it proper to entertain the notion1 of what is unknowable by our ignorance of the nature of the selfexistent ,one4 #cf4 ,whoso is known to have his utmost indifference to the visibles1 is capable of knowing the invisible spirit2 but the unenlightened soul1 is incapable to forsake and forget the visibles 7in order to see the spirit74 #cg4 ,the knowledge of the phenomenal is utter ignorance1 but that which is never lost to our consciousness is what is meant by samdhna1 and our reliance in the same1 constitutes what is called samdhi4 7,this passage has a long explanatory note which is here omitted74 #ch4 ,when the viewer and view 7or the subjective and objective71 are viewed in the same light of identity1 and so relied upon by the mind2 it is then called samdhna or the union of both into one1 and it is this belief whereupon the yogi places his rest and reliance4 #ci4 ,he who has known truth1 finds a distaste in the visibles of his own natures 7i4e4 is naturally averse to them72 and wise men make use of the word phenomenalism for ignorance of truth4 #dj4 ,fools only feed upon the objects of sense1 from their ignorance of truth1 but the wise men have a natural distaste for them2 for they that have the relish of sweet nectar in them1 cannot be disposed to taste the sour gruel or the acrid ale4 #da4 ,the uncovetous man being content in himself1 is quite devoid of the triple desire mentioned before2 but the wise man who is not inclined to meditation1 is addicted to the increase of his wealth4 #db4 ,self-knowledge results from absence of cupidity1 and whoso loses his self by his venality1 hath neither his self-possession1 nor any fixed position to stand upon 7but is led on everywhere by his covetousness to the service of others74 #dc4 ,the learned man does not prosper in his meditation1 though he may employ all his knowledge to it2 because he is divided in himself by his various desires1 though he was made as the whole and undivided image of himself 7i4e4 his maker74 #dd4 ,but the soul which is freed from its desires1 comes of itself in the possession of endless bliss1 by being dissolved in the source of it in its meditation1 as the flying mountains were fixed upon the earth 7by having their wings chopped off by the thunder of ,indra74 7,so the fickle mind is fixed1 by lopping off its desires74 #de4 ,as the soul becomes conscious of holy light in itself1 it loses the sense of its meditation and is wholly lost in that light2 as a drop of clarified butter offered in sacred oblation1 is burnt away in the sacrificial fire4 #df4 ,it is the entire inappetency of sensible objects1 which constitutes the peace and quietude of the mind2 and he who has accustomed himself to this habit1 is entitled to our regard as a venerable and holy divine4 #dg4 ,verily the man that has gained his proficiency1 in the suppression of his appetite for worldly objects2 becomes as firm and sedate in his holy meditation1 that he is not to be shaken from it1 by the joint power of ,indra and those of the ,gods and demigods4 7,the greedy are as sacrificial beasts1 for the food of ,gods and others74 #dh4 ,resort therefore to the strong and adamantine refuge of meditation1 and know that all other meditations beside that of knowledge1 is as frail and fragile as straws4 #di4 ,the word world is used in reference to ignorant people1 and the wise are not the subject of its meaning2 the difference of the words ignorant and wise1 consists in the one's forming the majority of mankind and the other their lords 7i4e4 ,wise men rule over the ignorant mob1 who compose the world74 #ej4 ,let wise men resort to and rest at that place1 where all meet in union in one self-shining unity2 whether it be on the ground of the understanding of the saintly siddhas1 or those of viveki sages4 7,this is an admonition to every one1 for his reliance in one catholic religion of unity1 of any nation or country74 #ea4 ,no one has yet been able to ascertain the unity or duality of the real or unreal 7i4e4 of the spirit and matter7 and the way to learn it1 is firstly by means of the sstras1 and next by association with wise and holy men4 #eb4 ,the third and best means to nirvna is meditation1 which is arrived at one after the other2 and then it will appear that the immense body of ,brahma 7i4e4 the infinite spirit71 takes upon it the name and nature of the living soul4 #ec4 ,the world appears in various forms by the concourse of the like and unlike principles1 and becomes divided into eighteen regions1 by the omniscience of ,god that knows the past1 and future4 #ed4 ,both the two things namely knowledge and dislike of the world1 are attained by attainment of either of them2 and the thoughts of our mind1 which fly with the winds in open air1 are burnt away by the fire of knowledge4 #ee4 ,the worlds like flying cottons1 having fled into the supreme soul1 nothing is known where they are flown at last2 and the gross ignorance of man is not removed by knowledge1 as the dense snow is not to be melted by the fire in a painting4 #ef4 ,though the world is known to be an unfounded fallacy1 yet it is hard to remove this error from the mind2 but on the other hand it increases like the knowledge of ignorant men of it1 by their ignorance4 #eg4 ,as the knowledge of the ignorant1 tends the more to increase their ignorance2 so the wiseman comes to find the meaninglessness of the knowledge of ignorant people with regard to the world4 #eh4 ,the existence of the three worlds1 is known to us only as they are represented in our knowledge of them2 they are built in vacuity as aerial cities1 and stretched out before us as empty dreams in our sleep4 #ei4 ,the knowledge of the world appears as false1 as the conception of fanciful desires in the minds of the wise2 for neither the entity of the world nor that of his self-existence1 is perceptible in the understanding of the wise man4 #fj4 ,there is only the existence of one supremely bright essence1 which shines in our minds2 which bears resemblance to pieces of wet or dry wood1 in as much as they are moistened or exsiccated by the presence or absence of the divine knowledge4 #fa4 ,to the right understanding the whole world with all its living beings1 appears as one with one's self2 but men of dull understandings1 bear no mutual sympathy to one another4 ,the knowledge of twain1 tends to difference and disunion betwixt man and man2 but that of oneness unity leads men to fellow-feeling and union4 #fb4 ,the wise man possessing a greater share of wisdom1 becomes as one with the ,supreme ,one2 and does not take into consideration1 the question of the entity or nullity of the world4 #fc4 ,as the man who has arrived at the forth stage of yoga1 takes no notice of the waking1 dreaming and sleeping states of man2 so the reasonable man takes into no account the vain wishes of his heart1 and false fancies of his mind4 #fd4 ,hence the deerlike mind does not choose its annihilation1 7or the loss of its entity72 for the sake of its liberation1 7which is an ideal and negative felicity71 and has no reality in it4 #fe4 ,thus the tree of meditation produces of itself the fruit of knowledge1 which is ripened by degrees and in course of time to its lusciousness2 and then the deer like mind drinks its sweet juice of divine knowledge to its satiety1 and becomes freed from its fetters of earthly desire4 ,,chapter ,,xlvi4 ,,on ,,abstract ,,meditation ,,and ,,hypnotism4 ,argument3--,the state of the mind1 after its tasting the fruit of the tree of ,meditation2 and the nausea produced thereby in all worldly objects and enjoyments4 ,vasishtha continued3--,after the ,supreme being which is the object and fruit of meditation1 is known as present in the mind1 and the bliss of release from flesh is felt within1 all sensations are lost altogether1 and the deerlike mind becomes spiritualized into the ,supreme essence4 #b4 ,it then loses its deership of browsing the thorns1 as the extinguished lamp loses its flame2 it assumes a spiritual form and shines with exhaustless blaze4 #c4 ,the mind in order to attain the fruit of its meditation1 assumes a firmness resembling that of the mountains1 after their wings were mutilated by the thunder bolts of ,indra4 #d4 ,its mental faculties fly away from it1 and there remains only its pure consciousness in it2 which is irrepressible and indivisible and full with the supreme soul in itself4 #e4 ,the mind being roused to its reasonableness 7from its former state of material dulness72 now rises as the sentient soul1 and dispensing its clear spiritual light1 from its identity with the increate and endless ,one4 #f4 ,it then remains in that state1 in perfect freedom and from all wishes and attempts2 it is assimilated with the everlasting spirit of ,god1 in its form of eternal contemplation4 #g4 ,until the great ,brahma may be known1 and our rest may be found in that ,blessed state2 so long the mind remains a stranger to meditation1 by reason of its dwelling on other thoughts4 #h4 ,after the mind has obtained its union with the supreme ,one1 we know not whither the mind is fled2 and where our wishes and actions1 our joys and griefs1 and all our knowledge fly away4 #i4 ,the yogi is seen to be solely absorbed in his meditation1 and sitting steadfast in his contemplation1 like a wingless and unmoving mountain4 #aj4 ,loathe to his sensual enjoyments1 and blunt to all sensibilities2 averse to the various sights and objects of senses1 the yogi is pleased only with himself4 #aa4 ,with his sensations numbed by degrees1 and his soul resting in tranquility2 and his mind dead to the enticements of wealth and sensible objects2 the yogi is pleased with himself4 #ab4 ,all men of right understanding1 are fully aware of the tastelessness of the objects of sense2 and remain like human figures in painting1 without doting or looking upon them4 #ac4 ,the man that is master of himself1 and has mastery over his soul and mind2 disdains to look upon earthly treasures1 for his want of desire for them2 he is firmly fixed in his abstraction1 as if he were compelled to it by force of another4 #ad4 ,the soul immerged in meditation1 becomes as full as a river in the rainy season2 and there is no power that can restrain the mind1 which is fixed in its meditation4 #ae4 ,when the mind is immerged in deep meditation1 by its cool apathy to all sensible objects1 and feels an utter indifference to all worldly affairs1 it is then said to be in its samdhi and no other4 #af4 ,it is a settled distaste to the objects of sense1 that constitutes the pith and marrow of meditativeness2 and the maturity of this habit1 makes a man as compact as adamant4 #ag4 ,it is therefore the distaste to worldly enjoyments1 that is the germ of meditation1 while it is the taste for such pleasures1 which binds a man fastly to it4 #ah4 ,full knowledge of truth1 and the renunciation of every desire at all times2 lead men to the nirvna meditation1 and to the infinite joy of the divine state4 #ai4 ,if there is inappetency of enjoyments1 why think of anything else8 and if there be no such inappetency1 what avails any other thought or meditation8 #bj4 ,the well intelligent sage who is freed from his relishing the visibles1 is situated in his position of unflinching meditation1 and in the enjoyment of his continuous reveries4 #ba4 ,he whom the visibles do not delight1 is known as the most enlightened man2 and he who takes no delight in the enjoyables1 is deemed as the full wise man4 #bb4 ,he who is disposed to repose by nature1 can have no inclination to enjoyments2 it is unnatural to indulge in carnal enjoyments1 but the subdued nature needs nothing to enjoy4 #bc4 ,let men resort to their reflection1 after their hearing of a lecture1 reciting the scripture1 and muttering the mantras and uttering their prayers2 and when tired with meditation1 let them return to their lectures and recitals4 #bd4 ,sitting in meditation in an indefatigable mood1 and resting at agreeable ease with freedom from fear and care2 remaining in rapturous hypnotism1 with a quiet and composed mind1 likens the fair autumnal sky with its unclouded and serene aspect4 ,,chapter ,,xlvii4 ,,the ,,first ,,step ,,towards ,,liberation4 ,argument3--,of the different steps leading to ,liberation1 and firstly of ,indifference to the world and lastly of putting reliance in the holy precepts4 ,vasishtha continued3--,hear now the manner and the measures which the yogi adopts to himself1 in order to obtain his release from his cumbrous burthen and troubles of the world4 #b4 ,as the germ of discrimination springs in the mind at first1 by reason of the disparagement of the world 7for the multiplicity of its faults1 or from some cause or other74 #c4 ,all good people1 resort under the wide stretching shade of this 7fullgrown7 tree2 as the weary and sunburnt traveller halts under the cooling shade of trees on their way4 #d4 ,the wise man shuns the ignorant at a distance1 as the wayfarer casts aside the sacrificial wood2 because the worshippers of the gods only observe the ceremonious rites of holy ablutions and almsgivings1 austerities and offering of sacred oblations4 #e4 ,in his fair1 just1 polite and undissembling behaviour1 and in his placid and pleasing countenance1 he resembles the fair moon with her ambrosial beams4 #f4 ,he acts with sound wisdom and prudence1 is polite and civil in his manners1 is prompt in serving and obliging others1 is holy in his conduct and humorous in his discourse4 #g4 ,he is as clear and cold1 soft and pleasing as fresh butter1 and his company is delightsome to people even at his very first appearance4 #h4 ,the deeds of wise men are as pure and grateful to mankind1 as the dews of moon-beams1 are refreshing and refrigerating of whole nature4 #i4 ,no one sleeps so delighted on a bed of flowers1 and in a flower garden devoid of fears2 as he rests secure in the society of reasonable and pious men4 #aj4 ,the society of holy and wisemen1 like the pure waters of the heavenly river1 serve to cleanse the sins and purify the minds of the sinful4 #aa4 ,the society of the holy recluse and liberated men1 is as cooling as a refrigeratory or ice house4 #ab4 ,the great and high delight1 which the holy sage feels in his heart1 is not to be enjoyed in the company of fairies among the gods1 gandharvas and human kind4 #ac4 ,it is by continued performance of proper acts1 that the pious devotee attains his knowledge and clearness of understanding2 when the significance of the sstras1 is reflected as clearly in the tablet of his mind1 as the reflections of objects are seen in a reflector4 #ad4 ,a good understanding moistened by instruction of the sstras1 thrives in the mind of a holy man1 as a plantain tree grows in the forest4 #ae4 ,the mind which is cleared by good judgment1 retains the clear impression of everything in it1 as a mirror reflects the images of objects on its surface4 #af4 ,the wise man whose soul is purified by the association with holymen1 and whose mind is cleansed with the lavation of scriptural instruction1 is as a sheet of linen cloth flaming with fire4 #ag4 ,the holy saint shines with the effulgence of his person1 as the sun does with his golden beams1 diffusing a pure light all around the world4 #ah4 ,the wise man follows the conduct of holy sages1 and the precepts of the sstras in such a manner2 as to imitate and practice them himself4 #ai4 ,thus the tyro becomes by degrees1 as good as the good and great objects of his imitation1 and as full of knowledge as the sstras themselves2 and having then put down all the enjoyments of life under him1 he appears to come out of a prison1 by breaking down his chains and fetters4 #bj4 ,he who is practiced in reducing his appetites and enjoyments day by day1 resembles the crescent moon daily increasing in brightness1 and enlightening his family1 as the moon throws her lustre over the stars about her4 #ba4 ,the penurious miser 7who amass their wealth without enjoying it71 is always as sulky as the face of eclipsed moon1 and never as smiling as the countenance of the liberal1 which is as bright as the face of the moon when freed from eclipse4 #bb4 ,the liberal man spurns the world as mere straw1 and becomes renowned among the great for his munificence2 he resembles the kalpa plant of paradise1 which yields the desired fruit to every body4 #bc4 ,though one may feel some compunction in his mind1 at the wilful abdication of his possessions2 yet the wise man is glad at his having no property at all4 7,it is better to have no property1 than to regret at its loss or resignation74 #bd4 ,any one may laugh at his prior acts1 if he will come to know what he was and he is2 as a low chandal by being jtismara1 laughs in disgust in making comparison of his past birth with that of the present4 #be4 ,even the siddhas or holy saints1 repair with wonder to see the yogi for their esteem of him2 and look upon him as the moon risen on earth1 with their delighted eyes4 #bf4 ,the yogi who is ever accustomed to despise all enjoyment1 and has attained his right judgement1 does not hold in estimation any of the enjoyables in life1 though it presents itself to him in the proper manner4 #bg4 ,the holy man whose soul is raised and enlightened 7in time71 feels his former enjoyments to become as dull and insipid to him1 as a luxuriant tree becomes dry and withered in autumn4 #bh4 ,he then resorts to the company of holymen1 for his greatest and lasting good2 and becomes as sane and sound1 as the sickman becomes hale by his abstinence and recourse to physicians4 #bi4 ,being then exulted in his mind1 he dives into the deep sense of the sstras2 as a big elephant plunges into a large lake of clear water4 #cj4 ,it is the nature of virtuous men1 to deliver their neighbours from danger and calamity2 and to lead them to their well being and prosperity1 as the sun leads people to light4 #ca4 ,the reasonableman becomes from before1 averse to receive anything from another1 and lives content with what is his own4 #cb4 ,he hates to taste the delicacies of others1 from his satiety with the ambrosial draughts of contentment2 and prepares himself for his abandonment of what he is already possessed of himself4 #cc4 ,he is accustomed to give away his gold and money to beggars1 and beg his vegetable food from others2 and by habitual practice of giving away whatever he has1 he is even ready to part with the flesh of his body4 #cd4 ,verily the man of subdued mind and holy soul1 gets over the hidden traps of ignorance with as much ease1 as a running man leaps over a pitfall 7goshpada74 #ce4 ,the holyman being accustomed to despise the acceptance of wealth from others1 learns betimes to slight the possession of any wealth for himself also4 #cf4 ,thus the aversion to the wealth and possessions of others1 leads the wise and holy man by degrees to be averse to the retaining of anything for himself4 #cg4 ,there is no such trouble in this earth1 nor any great pain in the torment of hell1 as there is in the punishment of earning and accumulation of wealth4 #ch4 ,ah6 how little are the money making fools aware1 of the cares and troubles which they have to undergo in their restless days and nights1 in their servitude for money4 #ci4 ,all wealth is but lengthening woe1 and prosperity is the harbinger of adversity2 all enjoyments and aliments are but ailments1 and thus every earthly good turns to its reverse4 #dj4 ,one cannot have a distaste to sensual enjoyments1 as long he thinks on the objects of sense2 and so long as he has a craving for riches1 which are the spring of all evils and bane of human life4 #da4 ,he who has got a relish for his highest heavenly bliss1 looks upon the world as a heap of straw1 and riches as the fire that kindles them to a flame4 ,avoid this fire and be cool and quiet4 #db4 ,the meaning of wealth is known to be the source of all evils in the world1 and as the cause of all wants and disorders and even of diseases and death4 ,it is also the cause of oppression and plunder1 of incendiarism and the like1 and their consequent poverty and famine4 #dc4 ,in this mortal world of the death and diseases of living beings1 there is one elixir which confers perpetual health and life to man1 and this is his contentment only4 7,hence called the ambrosia of life1 santoshmritang74 #dd4 ,the vernal season is charming1 and so are the garden of paradise1 the moon-beams and fairies1 but all combine in contentment only1 which is alone capable of yielding all the delights4 #de4 ,the contented soul likens a lake in the rains1 when it is full as it is deep1 and as clear and cooling as the nectarious beverage of the gods4 #df4 ,the honest man is strengthened by his contentment and flourishes with full glee1 as a flower tree is decked with blooming blossoms in the flowering season4 #dg4 ,as the poor emmet is likely to be crushed under the foot of every passer1 in its ceaseless search and hoarding of food2 so the greedy and needy man is liable to be spurned1 for his incessant wanderings after paltry gains and lucre4 #dh4 ,the deformed and disfigured beggar1 is as a man plunged in a sea of troubles1 and buffeting in its waves without finding a support for rest1 or any prospect of ever reaching to the shore4 #di4 ,prosperity like a beauty1 is as frail and fickle as the unstable waves of the ocean2 what wiseman is there that can expect to find his reliance in them1 or have his rest under the shade of the hood of hideous serpent8 7,this simile is borrowed in the ,nyya wherein world is said kupita phani phan chhyeva74 #ej4 ,he who knowing the pains attending on the gaining1 keeping and losing of money1 still persists to pursue in its search1 is no better than a brute1 and deserves to be shunned by the wise as unsociable4 #ea4 ,he who mows down at once the growing grass of his internal and external appetites1 from the field of his heart1 by the means of the scythe of insouciance1 gets it prepared for reception of the seeds of ,divine knowledge4 #eb4 ,ignorant people take the world for a reality1 and wise men also conduct themselves under this supposition though they are well aware of its unreality2 and this owing to their neglect of practicing what they are taught to believe4 7,the wise and foolish are in the same footing1 by equally unwise conduct in life74 #ec4 ,the sum of the whole is that1 it is the resignation of the world which leads men to the society of sages and study of the scriptures2 and then by reliance in the holy precepts1 one abandons his worldliness1 and at last his firm dislike of the temporal1 leads him to seek his spiritual bliss4 ,,chapter ,,xlviii4 ,,on ,,the ,,dignity ,,of ,,right ,,discrimination4 ,argument3--,the state of holy ,resignation4 ,vasishtha continued3--,after a man has come to his resignation of the world1 and to his association with holy men2 and after he has well digested the precepts of the sstras1 and abandoned his carnal appetites and enjoyments3-- #b4 ,and then having a distaste to worldly objects1 and gained the reputation of being a man of probity2 and being outwardly an inquirer after truth1 and inwardly full of enlightenment4 #c4 ,he does not long for wealth1 but shuns it as one flies from darkness2 he gives away whatever he has in hand1 as a man casts aside the dry and rotten leaves from his house4 #d4 ,every one is seen to be worn out with toil and care1 for the supportance of his family and friends throughout his life2 and yet like a weary traveller labouring under his load1 he is rarely found to cast off his burthen1 as long he has strength to bear it4 #e4 ,a man in full possession of his senses1 and the sensible objects all about him1 is yet quite insensible of them1 if he is but possessed of the calm1 quiet of his mind4 #f4 ,wherever he remains1 whether in his retired solitude or remote from his country2 or in a forest or sea or distant deserts or gardens2 he is perfectly at home in every place4 #g4 ,but he is not in love with any place1 nor dwells secure in any state whether it be the company of friends in a pleasure garden1 or in learned discussions in the assembly of scholars4 #h4 ,wherever he goes or stays1 he is always calm and self-governed1 silent and self communing2 and though well informed himself1 yet he is ever in quest of knowledge by reason of his inquiry after truth4 #i4 ,thus by his constant practice1 the holy sage sits on the low ground or in water1 and reclines himself in the supreme ,one in the state of transcendent bliss4 #aj4 ,this is the state of perfect quietude1 both of inner soul as also of the outward senses2 and the yogi remains quite insensible of himself1 with his consciousness of indubitable truth3 7of the unity of his soul with the ,supreme spirit74 #aa4 ,this transcendent state1 consists in the unconsciousness of sensible objects2 and the consciousness of a vacuum full with the presence of omniscience spirit 7or soul74 #ab4 ,firstly one's concern with the knowledge of unity1 and lastly his unconsciousness of himself and everything besides1 whether of a void or substance1 constitutes what is called the state of highest felicity4 #ac4 ,the saint who is mindless of everything1 and rests in his consciousness2 has no taste of 7or desire for anything71 but remains as a block of stone amidst the encircling water 7without tasting it74 #ad4 ,the self-conscious person who has attained to that exclusive state of perfection 7nirodha-padam71 which shuts out all objective thoughts from it1 remains silent and slow1 and quite unmindful of everything beside itself2 and he reposes in his own being 7i4e4 rests in himself71 as a human figure does in its picture4 #ae4 ,he who has known the ,one that is to be known1 sees in his heart all things as nothing2 all magnitudes dwindle into minuteness 7before his sight of the boundless majesty of ,god71 and the whole plenum appears as vacuum to him4 #af4 ,the knower of ,god1 has no more the knowledge of himself or others 7the ego1 tu1 and the world besides72 and all space and time and existence appear as non-existent before him4 #ag4 ,the seer who has seen the glory of ,god1 is situated in the region of light2 and like a lighted lamp1 he dispels his inner darkness1 together with all his outward fears1 animosities and affections4 #ah4 ,i bow down before that sun like sage1 who is set beyond darkness on every side1 and is raised above all created things2 and whose great glory is never liable to be darkened4 #ai4 ,i cannot describe in words the most eminent state of divine seer1 whose soul is fraught with divine knowledge1 whose mind is quite at rest1 and whose knowledge of duality is wholly extinct4 #bj4 ,know1 ,o most intelligent ,rma1 that the ,great ,lord ,god is pleased to bless him with the bliss of his final extinction in him2 in reward of his serving him by day and night with sincere devotion4 #ba4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me1 ,o chief of sages1 who is this ,lord ,god1 and how ,he is propitiated by our prayers and faith in him2 explain this mystery to me1 for you are acquainted with all truth4 #bb4 ,vasishtha replied3--,know1 ,o highly intelligent ,rma1 that the ,lord ,god is neither at a distance nor unattainable by us2 the ,lord is the all knowing soul1 and the soul is the great ,god4 #bc4 ,in ,him are all things1 and from him have come all these2 ,he is all1 and everywhere with all2 ,he is immanent in and self same with all1 he is everlasting and ,i bow down to him4 #bd4 ,from him comes out this creation1 as well as all its change and dissolution2 ,he is the uncaused cause of all1 which rise as winds in the hollow vault of heaven4 #be4 ,him do all these creatures--the moving as well as unmoving1 worship always 7in their hearts71 as well as they can2 and present them the best offerings that they can find4 #bf4 ,so men by adoring him in their repeated births1 with all their hearts and minds and in the best manner that they can2 propitiate at last the supreme object of their adoration4 #bg4 ,the great ,lord ,god and ,supreme soul1 being thus propitiated by their firm faith2 sends to them at last his messenger 7or angel71 with his good will for their enlightenment4 #bh4 ,rma asked3--,tell me1 great sage1 how does the lord ,god and supreme soul1 send his messenger to man2 and who is this messenger1 and in what manner he throws the light in the mind4 #bi4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the messenger sent by the divine spirit1 is known by the name of wise discrimination1 which shines as coolly in the cell of the human heart1 as the moonlight does in the clear firmament4 #cj4 ,it is this which awakens and instructs1 the brutish and cupidinous soul to wisdom1 and by this means saves the unwise soul1 from the turbulent ocean of this world4 #ca4 ,this enlightening and intellectual spirit1 residing in the human heart2 is denominated as the pranava or adorable1 in the ,veda and ,vedic sstras4 #cb4 ,this holy spirit is propitiated daily1 by men and the serpent tribe1 and by gods and demigods also2 by their prayers and oblations1 by their austerities and almsgivings1 as also by their sacrificial rites and recitals of the scriptures4 #cc4 ,this ,lord has the highest heaven for his crown1 and the earth and infernal regions for his footstools2 the stars glisten as hairs on his person2 his heart is the open space of the sky1 and all material bodies1 are as the bones of his body4 #cd4 ,he being the intellectual soul of all1 spreads undivided every where2 ,he is ever wakeful1 and sees and moves every thing1 as it were with his hands and feet1 and his eyes and ears and the other organs of his body4 #ce4 ,the living or sentient soul1 being awakened to wisdom1 by destroying the demon of the sensualistic mind2 takes upon it a bright spiritual form and becomes a spiritual being4 #cf4 ,now shun the various wishes of your heart1 which are ever changeful and full of evils2 and exert your manliness to exult your soul to the state of meeting with divine grace4 #cg4 ,the rambling mind resembles a demon1 buffeting with the waves of furious ocean of the world2 it is the enlightened soul only that shines like a luminary1 over the dark dreary and dismal waste of the earth4 #ch4 ,see thy mind is wafted away by the gale of its greediness1 to the vast billowy ocean of the world2 and hurled to the deep cavity of its whirlpools1 from whose depth no man can rise again4 #ci4 ,you have the strong ship of your divine wisdom alone1 that can get you across the sea of your ignorance2 and bear you up above the billows of your carnal appetites and passions4 #dj4 ,in this manner the lord being propitiated by his worship1 sends his holy spirit as his messenger1 for sanctification of the human soul2 and thus leads the living being to his best and most blest state1 by the gradual steps of holy society1 religious learning1 and the right understanding of their esoteric and spiritual sense4 ,,chapter ,,xlix4 ,,total ,,stoicism ,,and ,,insouciance4 ,argument3--,the tranquility arrived at by the ,holy ,sage1 and his relation with the world4 ,vasishtha continued3--,those that are stanch in their discernment of truth1 and firm in the abandonment of their desires1 are truly men of very great souls1 and conscious of their greatness in themselves4 #b4 ,the vast extent of magnanimity of noble minded men1 and the fathomless depth of their understanding1 is even greater than the space occupied by the fourteen worlds4 7,the unbounded mind of the divine ,newton1 comprehended the boundless with all the hosts of heaven in its fathomless depth74 #c4 ,wise men having a firm belief in the erroneous conception of the reality of the universe1 are quite at rest from all internal and external accidents1 which overtake the unwary ignorant as sharks and alligators4 7,the sea of ignorance abounding with sharks of casualties74 #d4 ,what reliance is there in our hope or desire for anything in this world1 which is as tempting and deceitful1 as the appearance of two moons in the sky1 of water in the mirage1 and the prospect of a fairy city in the air4 7,here the falsity applies both to worldly things as well as our desire for them1 and means the unrealizeableness of unrealities74 #e4 ,desires are as vain as the empty void1 owing to the nullity of the mind in which they arise2 the sapient therefore are not led away by their desires1 which they know1 have their origin in the unreal and vacant mind4 7,the yogi who has arrived at the state of his inappetency in the seventh stage of yoga1 never falls back to his desires any more74 #f4 ,the three states of waking1 dreaming and sound sleep1 are common to all living beings at large2 but that state which is beyond those triple functions1 and is all seeing and all knowing1 without its being seen or known in the state or nature of the ,supreme being 7whose omniscience neither wakes1 nor dreams nor sleeps at any time74 #g4 ,the soul in its enraptured state sees the world as a collection of light1 issuing from gems of various kinds2 and the human soul as a reflexion of that light1 and not as a solid or earthly 7material7 substance4 #h4 ,the phenomenal world presenting its various appearances to the eye sight1 is no more than an empty vacuity2 and the varieties of light and lightsome bodies which appear in it1 are no other than reflexions of the rays of the vast mine of brilliant gems1 which is hid under it1 and shoots forth its glare in the open air4 #i4 ,here there is no other substance in reality1 neither the vast cosmos nor the boundless vacuity itself2 all this is the glare of that greatest of gems1 whom we call the great ,brahma1 and whose glory shines all around us4 #aj4 ,the created and uncreated all is one ,brahma alone1 and neither is there any variety or destructibility in these or in him4 ,all these are formless beings1 and appear as substantial ones in imagination only1 as the sun beams paint the various figures in empty clouds in the air4 7,note4 ,whereas there is no variation in ,god1 there is neither the creation nor destruction of any thing at all2 these are but creations of imagination1 and evolutions of the infinite mind of the eternal ,god74 #aa4 ,thus when the imaginary world appears to blend with the etherial void1 this solid mass of the material world1 will then vanish into nothing4 #ab4 ,so the whole proving to be a perfect unsubstantiality1 it is quite impossible for it to admit any property or predicate whatever 7whether material or immaterial71 which is usually attributed to it2 because there is no probability of any quality belonging to an absolute nothing1 as it is impossible for a bird of air to alight upon1 or find a resting place in an air-grown tree4 #ac4 ,there is no solidity of anything1 nor is there a vacuity at all2 the mind also is itself a nullity but that which remains after all these1 is the only being in reality1 and which is never inexistent at any time4 #ad4 ,the soul is one alone and without its variation1 and has the consciousness of all varieties in itself1 and these are inherent in its nature1 as all the various forms of jewelleries are ingrained in a lump of gold4 #ae4 ,the sapient sage who remains in his own essential nature1 finds his egoism or personality1 together with the consciousness of his mind and the world besides1 all dwindle into himself2 it is difficult to describe the mind of wise man1 which remains identified with the nature of the self-existent being4 #af4 ,the understanding is perplexed and confounded in itself1 by observation of the sward nature of things on all sides2 and requires to be slowly and gradually brought to the knowledge of truth1 by means of right reason and argument4 #ag4 ,it is by abstracting the mind1 from its dwelling or visible nature--the production of ,virt2 and leading it to the contemplation of the spiritual cause of these works 7i4e4 the sutrtma71 that the true knowledge of the author of the present1 past and future worlds can be arrived at4 #ah4 ,he is known as a wise sage1 whose well discerning soul has perceived the truth in itself2 and that has found his rest in the ,one unity1 has no perception of the visible world1 and all its endless varieties 7which are attributed to ,virt74 #ai4 ,all the aforesaid sayings which are given here by way of advice1 are perceived by the intuition of the wise man1 as the wise sayings of good people1 are self-evident of themselves4 #bj4 ,the substance of all this is that1 there is no bulk or magnitude of beings in general1 nor its absence either as an entire vacuum2 therefore there is neither a gross or airy mind also1 but the ,one that exists after all1 is the true and ever existent entity4 #ba4 ,this entity is ,intelligence1 which is conversant with all the intelligibles in itself2 its manifestation in the form of our senses is fraught with all our woe1 while its disappearance leads to our felicity4 #bb4 ,being developed1 it evolves itself in the shape of outward organs1 and takes upon it the form of the gross body2 as the liquid water1 consolidates by degrees to the bulky forms of islands1 and huge mountainous bodies4 #bc4 ,this intelligence being engrossed by ignorance1 assumes gross form of mind to itself2 and with form it binds itself fastly with the corporeal body1 as a man views his aerial dreams in their material substance4 7,so the intelligent mind is transformed to a material substance74 #bd4 ,in these states of the conversion of intelligence into sensation1 perception and other faculties1 the ,intellect remains the same and unchangeable though it is expressed by different words of human invention 7and which are but synonyms of the same74 #be4 ,the soul remains the same both in its conception of mental thoughts and ideas1 as well as in its perception of outward objects2 and it is not changed in either case like the mind1 in its vision of the dreams within it1 and its sight of object1 without itself4 #bf4 ,the ,intellect or understanding1 resembling a vacuous substance1 is as unchangeable in its nature as that of vacuity and eternity2 and the objects which present their ideas in the soul1 are as dreams which appear in the mind1 and are nothing in reality4 #bg4 ,the gross nature of external objects1 bear no relation with the pure internal intellect2 nor can their impurity touch or pollute the purity of the soul2 therefore the intellect is not subject to the mutability of external nature4 #bh4 ,the understanding never acquires the mutable state1 of the objects it dwells upon 7as the mind does72 it remains always in its immutable nature1 and is never otherwise in any state or condition4 #bi4 ,the yogi having attained to his extreme purity of his understanding1 in the seventh or the highest degree of his perfection2 becomes identified with intelligence1 and of the meaning of its presence or absence4 #cj4 ,the minds of the passing or ordinary people1 are impressed with idea of their materiality by reason of their understanding themselves as material bodies4 #ca4 ,they falsely take their fleeting minds1 which are as pure as the clear firmament for a material object2 in the same manner as the players in a drama1 take upon themselves the false guise of ,pischas demons4 7,misrepresenting the fair as foul74 #cb4 ,all error is corrected by the habit of an unerring wisdom1 as the madness of a man is cured by his thinking himself as no mad man4 7,that is1 the constant habit of your thinking yourself as so and so1 is what will make you really appear as such74 #cc4 ,the knowledge of one's erroneousness makes him get out of his error1 as the error of dreaming is lost1 upon one's coming to the knowledge1 that all he beheld was but a mere dream4 #cd4 ,it is the extenuation of our desires1 that lessens our attachment to the world 7and the vice versa72 the desire is a great demon1 which must be destroyed by the wise man4 #ce4 ,as the madness of men1 is increased by their habitual ravings2 so it is by their constant practice of sobriety1 that the giddy insanity of man comes to be abated4 #cf4 ,as the passing human body1 is taken in its corporeal sense in thought2 so it is taken in a spiritual sense also by the learned1 by virtue of its understanding or intellectual powers or faculties4 #cg4 ,the passing or subtile body1 having taken the form of the living soul2 is capable of being converted into the state of ,brahma2 by the intense culture of its understanding4 7,but it is argued and objected that74 #ch4 ,if anything is produced according to its substance1 and if any body thinks himself according his own understanding2 how is it then possible for a material being1 to take itself in a spiritual sense4 #ci4 ,logomachy rather increases the doubts1 but following one's advice1 the error is removed off2 as devil is removed off by chaunting the mantras only1 rather than knowing the meaning of them4 #dj4 ,the world being thought as identic with its thought 7or conception in the mind71 it is believed to be an immaterial and bodiless substance2 until at last its substantivity is lost in the vacuity of the ,intellect4 7,so says the sruti3--,the world is the bodiless and unsullied spirit74 #da4 ,the mind being quite at rest from all its internal and external thoughts1 the real spiritual nature of the soul then appears to light2 and manifest itself in the form of the cool and clear firmament1 which must be laid hold upon for one's rest and refuge4 #db4 ,the wise man will perform his sacrifice with knowledge1 and plant the stakes of his meditation in it2 and at the conclusion of his all-conquering sacrifice 7,vishajit7 offer his relinquishment of the world 7sarva tyga7 as his oblation to it4 7,because whoso wishes to overcome the world1 needs first to make an offering of it in his holy sacrifice74 #dc4 ,the wise man is always the same and equally firm in himself1 whether he stands under a shower of rain or falling rain or fire stones from above1 or walks in a diluvian storm2 or when he is travelling all over the earth or mounting or flying in the air4 #dd4 ,no one can attain the station of the apathetic sage1 whose mind is tranquil by its want of desire1 and which has obtained its enclosure within itself2 unless he is practiced to sit in his steadfast meditation4 #de4 ,the mind can never derive that perfect peace and tranquility1 either from the study of the sstras1 or attending on holy lectures and sermons1 or by the practice of austerities and self-controul2 as it does by its distaste of all external objects and enjoyments4 #df4 ,the mind like a bundle of hay is burnt away by the fire of inappetency of all worldly objects2 this fire is kindled by the breath of abandonment of all things1 and fanned by the persuasion1 that all prosperity is followed by adversity4 #dg4 ,the perception of sensible objects1 casts a mist of ignorance in and all about the mind2 it is one's knowledge alone1 which shines as a brilliant gem within himself4 #dh4 ,it is the ,intellect alone which shines amidst this gloom1 like a luminary in the sky2 and looks over all mankind1 ,ngas and ,asuras1 and over mountains and in their caves4 #di4 ,it is by the infusion of this ,intellect1 that all things are moving in the dull womb of the universe2 they are whirling in the whirlpool of the ,intellect1 and are deriving their freshness from the enlivening power of that source4 #ej4 ,all living beings whirling in the great whirlpool of the ,intellect 7chit ,vivarte71 are as weak little fishes encircled by the net of ignorance2 they are swimming and skimming in the water of the vast vacuum1 and are quite forgetful of their spiritual origin4 #ea4 ,it is the ,divine ,intellect1 that shows itself in various forms within the sphere of itself2 as the air presents the variegated forms of thickening clouds1 in the wide arena of the sky4 #eb4 ,all living beings are of the same nature1 with their spiritual source1 when they are devoid of their desires2 it is the difference of desire that makes their different states1 and causes them to fly about like the dry leaves of trees1 and rustling in the air as hollow reeds4 #ec4 ,therefore you must not remain as the ignorant1 but rise above them by raising your mind to wisdom2 and this is to be done1 by calling the manly powers to your aid2 and then by overcoming your dullness to suppress the whole band of your rising desires1 and next by breaking the strong fetters and prison-house of this world1 to devote your attention to your improvement in spiritual knowledge4 7,these steps are described very diffusely in the gloss for the practice of the devotee74 ,,chapter ,l4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,seven ,,kinds ,,of ,,living ,,beings4 ,argument3--,the septuple orders of living creatures1 according to the degrees of the tenacity and laxity of their desires4 7,as mentioned in the preceding ,chapter74 ,vasishtha added3--,these bodies of living beings1 that are seen to fill the ten sides of this world2 and consisting of the different tribes of men1 ,ngas1 ,suras1 ,gandharvas1 mountaineers and others4 #b4 ,of these some are sleeping wakers 7waking sleepers71 and others are waking in their imaginations only1 and hence called imaginative wakers2 some are only wakeful1 while there be others who have been waking all along4 #c4 ,many are found to be strictly wakeful1 and many also as waking sleepers both by day and night2 there be some animals that are slightly wakeful1 and these constitute the seven classes of living beings 7inhabiting this world74 #d4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 the difference of the seven species of living beings for my satisfaction2 which appear to me to be as different as the waters of the seven seas4 #e4 ,vasishtha replied3--,there have been some men in some former age and parts of the world1 who are known to have been long sleepers with their living bodies4 7,such were the seven sleepers of kehef mentioned in ,sdi's ,gulistan74 #f4 ,the dream that they see1 is the dream of the existence of the world2 and those who dream this dream are living men1 and denominated as waking sleepers or day dreamers4 #g4 ,sometimes a sleeping man1 sees a dream rising of itself before him1 by reason of some prior action or desire of the same kind arising in the mind2 such is the uncalled for appearance of anything or property unto us2 and it is therefore that we are denominated as dreaming men4 7,the story of ,ll related before1 will serve as an elucidation of this kind74 #h4 ,they who come to wake after their prolonged sleep and dream1 are called as awakened from their sleep and dream1 and to have got rid of them 7such are the enlightened men that have come out of their ignorance74 #i4 ,i say we are also sleepers and dreamers1 among those sleeping men2 because we do not perceive the omniscient ,one1 who by his omnipresence is present every where1 as the ,all in all4 #aj4 ,rma rejoined2--,tell me now where are those awakened and enlightened men now situated1 when those kalpa ages wherein they lived and were born1 are now past and gone along with their false imagination4 #aa4 ,vasishtha replied3--,those who have got rid of their erroneous dreams in this world1 and are awakened from their sleep2 resort to some other bodies which they meet with1 agreeable to the fancies which they form in their imaginations4 7,every one having a peculiar fancy of himself for anything1 assumes that form in his next birth74 #ab4 ,thus they meet with other forms in other ages of the world1 according to their own peculiar fancies2 because there is no end of the concatenation and fumes of fancy1 in the empty air of the mind4 #ac4 ,now know them that are said to be awakened from their sleep1 to be those who have got out of this imaginary world2 as the inborn insects1 come out of an old and rotten fig tree4 #ad4 ,hear now of those that are said to be waking in their fancies and desires1 and they are those who are born in some former age1 and in some part of the world2 and were entirely restless and sleepless in their minds owing to some fanciful desire springing in them1 and to which they were wholly devoted 7so are they that live upon hope74 #ae4 ,and they also who are lost in their meditation1 and are subjected in the realm of their greedy minds2 who are strongly bound to their desires1 by losing or the sacrifice of all their former virtues4 #af4 ,so also are they whose desires have been partly awake from before1 and have gradually engrossed all the other better endeavours of their possessors1 are likewise said to be wakeful to their desires4 #ag4 ,they who after cessation of their former desires1 resort to some fresh wishes again2 are not only greedy people themselves1 but think ourselves also to be of the same sort4 #ah4 ,i have told you already regarding the vigils of their desires1 and now know them to be dormant over their desires1 who bear their lives as they are life beings1 and dead to their wishes like ourselves4 ,but hear further of them that are ever awake4 #ai4 ,the first patriarchs that were produced from the self-evolving ,brahma1 are said to have been ever wakeful1 as they had been immerged in profound sleep before their production4 #bj4 ,but being subjected to repeated births1 these ever wakeful beings1 became subject to alternate sleep and waking1 owing to their subjection to reiterated work and repose4 #ba4 ,these again became degraded to the state of trees1 on account of their unworthy deeds2 and these are said to be duly waking1 because of their want of sensibility even in waking state4 7,the nocturnal sleep of the vegetable creation was unknown to the ancients74 #bb4 ,those who are enlightened by the light of the sstras1 and the company of wise men2 look upon the world as a dream in their waking state1 and are therefore called as waking dreamers by day4 #bc4 ,those enlightened men1 who have found their rest in the divine state2 and are neither wholly awake nor asleep1 are said to have arrived at the fourth stage of their yoga4 #bd4 ,thus have ,i related to you the difference1 of the seven kinds of beings1 as that of the waters of the seven seas from one another4 ,now be of that kind which you think to be the best4 #be4 ,after all1 ,o ,rma1 give up your error of reckoning the worlds as real entities of themselves2 and as you have come to your firm belief in one absolute unity1 get rid of the duality of vacuity and solidity1 and be one with that primeval body1 which is free from monism and dualism4 ,,chapter ,,li4 ,,admonition ,,to ,,arrive ,,at ,,the ,,yoga ,,of ,,ultimate ,,rest4 ,argument3--,the world disappearing at the sight of ,god1 its falsity at the sight of the self1 and its voidness before true knowledge4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 what is the cause of mere waking for nothing1 and how does a living being proceed from the formless ,brahma1 which is tantamount to the growth of a tree in empty air4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,o highly intelligent ,rma1 there is no work to be found any where which is without its cause1 therefore it is altogether impossible for any body to exist here1 that is merely awake for nothing4 #c4 ,like this1 it is equally impossible also for all other kinds of living beings1 to exist without a cause4 #d4 ,there is nothing that is produced here1 nor anything which is destroyed also2 it is only for the instruction and comprehension of pupils1 that such words are coined and made use of4 #e4 ,rma asked3--,who then is it that forms these bodies1 together with their minds1 understandings and senses2 and who is it that deludes all beings into the snares of passions and affections1 and into the net of ignorance4 #f4 ,vasishtha replied3--,there is no body that forms these bodies at any time1 nor is there any one who deludes the living beings in a manner at all4 #g4 ,there is alone the self-shining soul1 residing in his conscious self2 which evolves in various shapes1 as the water glides on in the shapes of billows and waves4 7,here water is expressed by the monosyllabic word ka--aqua1 as it is done else where by udac undan and udra--hydra as also by ap--ab ,persian74 #h4 ,there is nothing as an external phenomenon1 it is the intellect which shows itself as the phenomenal2 it rises from the mind 7as perception does from the heart71 like a large tree growing out of its seed4 #i4 ,it is in this faculty of the understanding1 ,o thou support of ,raghu's race1 that this universe is situated1 just as the images are carved in a stone4 #aj4 ,there is but one spiritual soul1 which spreads both internally as well as externally1 throughout the whole extent of time and space2 and know this world as the effluvia of the divine intellect scattered on all sides4 #aa4 ,know this as the next world1 by suppressing your desire for a future one2 rest calmly in your celestial soul even here1 nor let your desires range from here to there4 #ab4 ,all space and time1 all the worlds and their motions with all our actions1 being included under the province of the intellectual soul2 the meanings of all these terms are never insignificant and nil4 #ac4 ,o ,rghava6 ,it is they only who are well acquainted with the meanings of words 7the vedas71 and those keen observers who have ceased to look upon the visibles1 that can comprehend the ,supreme soul1 and not others 7who have no understanding74 #ad4 ,those who are of light minds1 and are buried in the depth of egoism2 it is impossible for them ever to come to the sight of that light 7which is seen only by the holy74 #ae4 ,the wise look upon the fourteen regions of this world1 together with multitudes of their inhabitants1 as the members of this embodied spirit4 #af4 ,there can be no creation or dissolution without its cause2 and the work must be conformable with the skill of its maker4 #ag4 ,if the work be accompanied with its cause1 and the work alone be perceptible without its accompanying cause1 it must be an unreality1 owing to our imperception of its constituting cause4 #ah4 ,and whereas the product must resemble its producer1 as the whiteness of the sea water produces the white waves and froths1 so the productions of the most perfect ,god1 must bear resemblance to his nature in their perfection4 ,but the imperfect world and the mind not being so1 they cannot be said to have proceeded from the all perfect ,one4 #ai4 7,therefore imperfect nature is no creation of the father of perfection74 ,wherefore all this is the pure spirit of ,god1 and the whole is the great body of ,brahma2 in the same manner1 as one clod of earth1 is the cause of many a pot2 and one bar of gold1 becomes the cause of many a jewel4 #bj4 ,as the waking state appears as a dream in dreaming 7i4e4 when one dreams71 on account of the oblivion of the waking state2 so the waking state seems as dreaming1 even in the waking state of the wise4 7,so the pot appears as the clod in its unformed state1 and the clod appears as the pot after it is formed4 ,so the spirit appears as the world to the ignorant1 while the world appears as soul to the wise74 #ba4 ,if it is viewed in the light of the mind or a creation of the mind1 it proves to be as false as water in the mirage 7because the phantasies of the mind present only false appearances to view74 ,it proves at last to be a waking dream by the right understanding of it4 #bb4 ,by right knowledge all material objects1 together with the bodies of wise men1 dissolve like the bodies of clouds1 in their proper season4 #bc4 ,as the clouds disappear in the air1 after pouring their waters in the rains2 so doth the world disappear from the sight of men1 who have come to the light of truth and knowledge of the soul4 #bd4 ,like the empty clouds of autumn and the water of the mirage1 the phenomenal world loses its appearance1 no sooner it is viewed by the light of right reason4 #be4 ,as solid gold is melted down to fluidity by hot fire1 so the phenomenals all melt away to an aerial nothing1 when they are observed by the keen eye of philosophy4 #bf4 ,all solid substances in the three worlds1 become rarefied air when they are put to the test of a rational analysis2 just as the stalwart spectre of a demon1 vanishes from the sight of the awakened child into nothing4 #bg4 ,conceptions of endless images1 rise and fall of themselves in the mind2 so the image of the world being but a concept of the mind1 there is no reality in it1 nor is there anything which has any density or massiveness in it 7a mass being but the conception of an aggregate of minute particles and no more74 #bh4 ,the knowledge and ignorance of the world1 consist only in its conception and nescience in the mind2 when the knowledge of its existence disappears from the understanding1 where is there the idea of its massiveness any more in the mind4 7,so as in the insensibility of our sound sleep and swooning1 we have no consciousness of it74 #bi4 ,the world loses its bulk and solidity1 in our knowledge of the state of our waking dream2 when its ponderousness turns to rarity1 as the gold melts to liquidity when it is put upon fire4 #cj4 ,the understanding as it is 7i4e4 being left uncultivated71 becomes dull and dense by degrees2 as the liquid gold when left to itself1 is solidified in a short time4 #ca4 ,thus one who in his waking state considers himself to be dreaming1 and sees the world in its rarified state2 comes to extenuate himself with all his desires and appetites1 as a ponderous cloud is sublimated in autumn4 #cb4 ,the wise man seeing all the visible beauties of nature which are set before his face1 as extremely rare and of the appearance of dreams1 takes no notice of nor relish in them4 #cc4 ,where is this rest of the soul1 and where this turmoil of the spirit for wealth2 their abiding in the one and same man1 is as the meeting of sleep and wakefulness together1 and the union of error and truth in the same person1 and at the same time 7which is impossible74 #cd4 ,he who remains asleep to 7or insensible of7 the erroneous imaginations of his mind1 acts freed from his false persuasion of the reality of the world4 #ce4 ,who is it1 ,o high minded ,rma1 that takes a pleasure in an unreality1 or satisfies himself with drinking the false water of the mirage appearing before him4 #cf4 ,the saintly sage1 who rests in his knowledge of truth2 looks upon the world as an infinite vacuum1 beset with luminaries1 which shines forth like the light of lamps set behind the windows4 #cg4 ,the waking man who knows everything as void and blank1 and as the vagary of his vagrant mind ceases to long for the enjoyment of it4 7,for nobody craves for anything1 which he knows to be nothing74 #ch4 ,there is nothing desirable in that1 which is known to be nothing at all2 for who runs after the gold1 which he has seen in his dream at night8 #ci4 ,every body desists from desiring that1 which he knows to be seen in his dream only2 and he is released from the bondage1 which binds the beholder to the object of this sight4 7,lit4 the knot of the viewer and view is broken74 #dj4 ,he is the most accomplished man1 who is not addicted to pleasure1 and is of a composed mind and with pride2 and he is a man of understanding1 who is dispassionate and remains quiet without any care or toil4 7,perfect composure is the character of the ,stoic and ,platonic philosophers74 #da4 ,distaste to pleasure1 produces the want of desire2 just as the flame of fire being gone1 there is an end of its light4 7,the fire gives heat but the flame produces the light74 #db4 ,the light of knowledge1 shows sky as a cloudless and lighted sphere2 but the darkness of error1 gives the world an appearance of the hazy fairy land4 #dc4 ,the wise man neither sees himself1 nor the heavens nor anything besides2 but his ultimate view is at last fixed upon the glory of ,god 7which shines all about him74 #dd4 ,the holy seer 7being seated in the seventh stage of his yoga71 sees neither himself nor the sky nor the imaginary worlds about him2 he does not see the phantasms of his fancy1 but sits quite insensible of all4 #de4 ,the earth and other existences1 which are dwelt and gazed upon by the ignorant1 are lost in the sight of the sage1 who sees the whole as a void1 and is insensible of himself4 7,the earth recedes1 and heaven opens to his sight4 ,pope74 #df4 ,then there comes on a calm composure and grace in the soul1 resembling the brightness of the clear firmament2 and the yogi sits detached from all1 as a nullity in himself4 #dg4 ,unmindful of all1 the yogi sits silent in his state of self-seclusion and exclusion from all3 he is set beyond the ocean of the world1 and the bounds of all its duties and action4 7,the yogi gets exempt from all social and religious obligation74 #dh4 ,that great ignorance 7or delusion71 which is the cause of the mind's apprehension of the earth and sky1 and the hills and seas and their contents1 is utterly dissolved by true knowledge1 though these things appear to exist before the ignorant eye4 #di4 ,the sapient sage stands unveiled before his light of naked truth1 with his tranquil mind freed from all sceptical doubts2 and being nourished with the ambrosia of truth1 he is as firm and fixed in himself1 as the pithy and sturdy oak4 ,,chapter ,,lii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,form ,,and ,,attributes ,,of ,,brahma4 ,argument3--,refutation of the ,theories of ,logicians1 and ,explanation of ,brahma as ,immanent in all nature4 ,rma said3--,tell me1 ,o sage1 whence comes our knowledge of the world 7as a distinct entity from ,god72 and then tell me1 how this difference is removed and refuted4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the ignorant man takes to his mind all that he sees with his eyes1 and not at all what he does not see4 ,thus he sees a tree in its outward branches and leaves1 but knows not the root1 which lies hid from his sight4 #c4 ,the wise man sees a thing by the light of the sstra1 and uses it accordingly2 but the ignorant fool1 takes and grasps anything as he sees it2 without considering its hidden quality4 #d4 ,be attentive to the dictates of the sstras1 and intent upon acting according to their purport2 and by remaining as a silent sage1 attend to my sermon1 which will be an ornament to your ears4 #e4 ,all this visible phenomenon is erroneous1 it hath no real existence1 and appears as the flash of light in the water and is known by the name of ignoramus4 #f4 ,attend for a moment and for my sake1 to the purport of the instruction which ,i am now going to give you2 and knowing this as certain truth1 rely upon it 7and you will gain your object hereby74 #g4 ,whence are all these and what are they1 is a doubt 7inquiry7 which naturally rises of itself in the mind2 and you will come to know by your own cogitation1 that all this is nothing and is not in existence4 #h4 ,whatever appears before you in the form of this world1 and all its fixed and moveable objects2 as also all things of every shape and kind1 is altogether evanescent and vanishes in time into nothing4 #i4 ,the continual wasting and partition of the particles of things1 bespeak their unavoidable extinction at last1 as the water exuding by drops from a pot1 make it entirely empty in a short time4 #aj4 ,thus all things being perishable1 and all of them being1 but parts of ,brahma1 it is agreed 7by ,logicians71 that ,brahma is neither endless nor imperishable1 nor even existent at this time 7since by loss of parts by infinitesimal1 the whole is lost in toto at last74 #aa4 ,this conceit 7of a theist7 likening the intoxication of wine1 cannot over power our theistical belief2 because our knowledge of bodies1 is as that of things in a dream1 and not at all of their real substantiality4 #ab4 ,the phenomenals are of course all perishable1 but not the other 7the spirit71 which is neither matter nor destructible1 and this is conformable with the doctrines of the sstras1 which mean no other4 #ac4 ,whether what is destroyed come to revive again or not1 is utterly unknowable to us2 all that we can say by our inferences1 is that the renovations are very like the former ones4 #ad4 ,that matter existed in the form of vacuum upon its dissolution1 is not possible to believe 7from the impossibility of plastic nature to be converted to a formless void74 ,again if there was the vacuum as before1 then there could not be a total dissolution 7if this was left undestroyed74 #ae4 ,if the theory of the identity of creation and dissolution be maintained 7owing to the existence of the world in the spirit of ,god72 then the absence of causality and effect1 supports our tenet of their being the one and the same thing4 #af4 ,vacuity being conceivable by us1 we say everything to be annihilated1 that is transformed to or hid in the womb of vacuum2 if then there is anything else which is meant by dissolution1 let us know what may it be otherwise4 #ag4 ,whoever believes that1 the things which are destroyed1 comes to restore again 7as the ,pratyabhijna vadis do72 is either wrong to call them annihilated1 or must own1 that others are produced to supply their place4 #ah4 ,where is there any causality or consequence in a tree1 which is but a transformation of the seed2 notwithstanding the difference of its parts1 as the trunk and branches1 and leaves and fruits4 #ai4 ,the seed is not inactive as a pot or picture1 but exhibits its actions in the production of its flower and fruits in their proper seasons4 7,so doth the divine spirit show its evolution and involution1 as the proper times of creation and dissolution of the world74 #bj4 ,that there is no difference in the substance of things 7of different form and natures71 is a truth maintained by every system of philosophy2 and this truth is upheld in spirituality also2 therefore there is no dispute about it4 #ba4 ,and this substance being considered to be of an eternally inert form1 and of a plastic nature2 it is understood to be of the essence of vacuum1 both by right inference and evidence of sstras4 #bb4 ,why the essential principle is unknown to us1 and why we have still some notion of it1 and how we realize that idea1 is what ,i am now going to relate to you step by step4 #bc4 ,all these visible spheres1 being annihilated at the final dissolution of the world2 and the great gods also being extinct1 together with our minds and understandings1 and all the activities of nature4 #bd4 ,the sky also being undefined and time dwindling into a divisible duration2 the winds also disappearing and fire blinding into the chaotic confusion4 #be4 ,darkness also disappearing and water vanishing into nothing2 and all things which are expressed by words quite growing nil and null in the end4 #bf4 ,there remains the pure entity of a conscious soul1 which is altogether unbounded by time and space1 and is something without its beginning or end2 is decrease or waste1 and entirely pure and perfect in its nature4 #bg4 ,this one is unspeakable and undiscernible1 imperceptible and inconceivable and without any appellation or attribute whatever2 ,this is an utter void itself and yet the principle and receptacle of all beings and the source of all entity and non-entity4 #bh4 ,it is not the air nor the wind1 nor is it the understanding nor any of its faculties nor a void or nullity also2 it is nothing and yet the source of everything1 and what can it be but the transcendent vacuum 7vyom-beom ,hebrew1 and the bom-bom of sivaites when ,siva is called vyom-,kesa74 #bi4 ,it is only a notion in the conception of wise and beside which no one can conceive or know anything of it1 whatever definition or description of it is given by others1 is only a repetition of the words of the vedas4 #cj4 ,it is neither the time or space1 nor the mind nor soul nor any being or nothing that it may said to be2 it is not in the midst or end of any space or side1 nor is it that we know or know altogether4 7,the ,lord is unspeakable yet faintly seen in these his meanest works4 ,milton74 #ca4 ,this is something too translucent for common apprehension1 and is conceivable only by the greatest understandings2 and such as have retired from the world and attained to the highest stage of their yoga4 #cb4 ,i have left out the popular doctrines1 which are avoided by the ,srutis2 and the expressions of the latter are displayed herein1 like the playful waves in the limpid ocean4 #cc4 ,it is said there1 that all beings are situated in their common receptacle of the great ,brahma2 as the unprojected figures are exhibited in relief1 upon a massive stony pillar4 #cd4 ,thus all beings are situated and yet unsituated in ,brahma1 who is the soul of and not the same with all2 and who is in and without all existence 7,these contraries are according to the texts of different ,srutis1 giving the discordant ideas of ,god in the spiritualistic and materialistic points of view74 #ce4 ,whatever be the nature of the universal soul1 it is devoid of all attributes2 and in whatever manner it is viewed1 it comes at last to mean the self-same unity4 7,the different paths leading to the one and same goal74 #cf4 ,it is all and the soul of all1 and being devoid of attributes1 it is full of all attributes2 and in this manner it is viewed by all4 #cg4 ,so long1 ,o intelligent ,rma1 as you do not feel the entire suspension of all your objects 7in the torpid state of your samdhi72 you cannot be said to have reached to the fullness of your knowledge1 as it is indicated by your doubts till then4 #ch4 ,the enlightened man who has come to 7know7 the unapparent great glory of ,god1 has the clear sightedness of his mind1 and remains quiet with viewing the inbeing of his being4 #ci4 ,his fallacies of ,i1 thou and he1 and his error of the world and the three times 7viz4 the present1 past1 and future72 are lost in his sight of that great glory1 as many a silver coin is merged in a lump of gold4 #dj4 ,but as a gold coin1 produces 7yields7 various kinds of coins 7different from itself72 it is not in that manner that these worlds and their contents1 are produced as things of a different kind from the nature of ,god4 #da4 ,the detached soul looks always upon the different bodies1 as contained within itself2 and remains in relation to this dualism of the world1 as the gold is related to the various kinds of jewels1 which are produced from it4 #db4 ,it is inexpressible by the words1 implying space and time or any other thing2 though it is the source and seat of them all2 it comprehends everything1 though it is nothing of itself4 #dc4 ,all things are situated in ,brahma1 as the waves are contained in the sea2 and they are exhibited by him1 like pictures drawn by the painter2 he is the substratum and substance of all1 as the clay of the pots which are made of it4 #dd4 ,all things are contained in it1 as they are and are not there at the sametime1 and as neither distinct nor indistinct from the same2 they are ever of the same nature1 and equally pure and quiet as their origin4 #de4 ,the three worlds are contained in it1 as the uncarved images are concealed in a stone or wood2 and as they are seen with gladness even there1 by the future sculptor or carver4 #df4 ,the images come to be seen1 when they are carved and appear manifest on the stone pillar2 otherwise the worlds remain in that soul1 as the unperturbed waves lie calmly in the bosom of the sea4 #dg4 ,the sight of the worlds appears to the ,divine intellect1 as divided and distinct when they are yet undivided and indistinct before their creation2 they appear to be shining and moving there2 when they are dark and motionless on the outside4 #dh4 ,it is the combination of atoms1 that composes these worlds2 and makes them shine so bright1 when no particle has any light in it4 7,dull matter is dark1 and it is the light of ,god that makes it shine74 #di4 ,the sky1 air1 time and all other objects1 which are said to be produced from the formless ,god2 are likewise formless of themselves2 the ,lord ,god is the soul of all1 devoid of all qualities and change1 undecaying and everlasting1 and termed the most transcendent truth4 ,,chapter ,,liii4 ,,explanation ,,of ,,nirv,,na--,,anaesthesia4 ,argument3--,ascertainment of the source of cause of the visible world4 ,rma said3--,how there is sensibility in sensible beings1 and there is durability in time2 how vacuum is a perfect void1 and how inertness abides in dull material substances3-- #b4 ,how does fluctuation reside in air1 and what is the state of things in futuro1 and those that absent at present2 how doth motion reside in moving things1 and how doth plasmic bodies receive their forms4 #c4 ,whence is the difference of different things1 and the infinity of infinite natures2 how there is visibility in the visibles1 7i4e4 how the visibles appear to view71 and how does the creation of created things come to take place3-- #d4 ,tell me1 ,o most eloquent ,brahman1 all these things one by one1 and explain them from the first to last1 in such manner1 that they may be intelligible to the lowest understanding4 #e4 ,vasishtha replied3--,that endless great vacuum1 is known as the great and solid intellect itself2 but this is not to be known any more1 than as a tranquil and self-existent unity4 #f4 ,the ,gods ,brahma1 ,vishnu1 and ,siva and others1 are reduced to their origin at the last dissolution of the world2 and there remains only that pure source whence they have sprung4 #g4 ,there is however no cause to be assigned in this prime cause of all1 who is also the seed of matter and form1 as well as of delusion1 ignorance and error4 7,these being but counterparts of spirit and knowledge1 are all mingled in ,him74 #h4 ,the original cause is quite transparent and tranquil1 and having neither its beginning nor end1 and the subtile ether itself is dense and solid1 in comparison with the rarity of the other4 #i4 ,it is not proper to call it a nullity1 when it is possessed of an intellectual body2 nor can it with propriety styled as an existent being1 when it is altogether calm and quiet 7and nothing imaginable74 #aj4 ,the form of that being is as inconceivable1 as the idea of that little space of time which lies in midst of our thought of the length of a thousand miles1 which the mind's eye sees in a moment4 7,its flash is quicker than that of a lightning and the flight of imagination74 #aa4 ,the yogi who is insensible of the false and delusive desires and sights of objects1 that intrude upon internal mind and external vision1 sees the transient flash of that light in his meditation1 as he wakes amidst the gloom of midnight4 #ab4 ,the man that sits with the quiet calmness of his mind1 and without any of joy or grief2 comes to feel the pulsation of that spirit in himself1 as he perceives the fluctuation of his mind within him4 #ac4 ,that which is the spring of creation1 as the sprout is the source of all vegetable productions2 the very same is the form of the ,lord 7,that he is the vegetative seed or germ of the arbour of the world4 ,sansra ,briksa ,brijnkura74 #ad4 ,he is the cause of the world1 which is seen to exist in ,him2 and which is a manifestation of himself1 in all its varieties of fearful forms and shapes 7,all which is the act of his illusion74 #ae4 ,these therefore having no actual or real cause1 are no real productions nor actual existences2 because there is no formal world 7in its natural form71 nor a duality co-existent with the spiritual unity4 #af4 ,that which has no cause1 can have no possible existence2 the eternal ideas of ,god cannot be otherwise than mere ideal shapes4 #ag4 ,the vacuum which has no beginning nor end1 is yet no cause of the world2 because ,brahma is formless1 but the vacuous sky1 which presents a visible appearance1 cannot be the form of the formless and invisible ,brahma4 #ah4 ,therefore he is that1 in which the form of the world appears to exist2 hence the lord himself appears as that which is situated in the vacuity of his intellect4 #ai4 ,the world being of the nature of the intellectual ,brahma1 is of the same intellectual kind with him2 though our error shows it otherwise 7i4e4 in a material and visible form4 ,all is one with the unborn and ever tranquil ,one1 in whom all dualities blend in unity74 #bj4 ,this whole world springs from that whole intellect1 and subsists in its entirety in that entire ,one2 the completeness of that is displayed in the totality of this1 and the completeness of creation1 depends upon the perfection of its cause4 7,nothing imperfect proceeds from the perfect one74 #ba4 ,knowing that ,one as ever even and quiet1 having neither its rise or fall2 nor any form of likeness1 but ever remaining in its translucent unity as the ample sky1 and is the everlasting all2 and combining the reality and unreality together in its unity1 makes the nirvna of sages4 ,,chapter ,,liv4 ,,establishment ,,of ,,the ,,undivided ,,individuality ,,of ,,god4 ,argument3--,ascertainment of the unity of ,god4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the world is a clear vacuum1 subsisting in the entity of the vacuous ,brahma2 it is as the visible sky in the empty sky1 and means the manifestation of ,brahma4 #b4 ,the words ,i and thou are expressive of the same ,brahma1 seated in his undivided individuality2 so are all things seated as calmly and quietly in him1 as if they are not seated there1 though they are shining in and by the same light4 #c4 ,the earth with its hills and protuberant bodies upon it1 resembles the tumour on the body of ,brahma2 and the whole world1 remains as dumb as a block in the person of ,brahma4 #d4 ,he views the visibles1 as he is no viewer of them2 and he is the maker of all1 without making anything2 because they naturally subsist with their several natures in the ,supreme spirit4 #e4 ,this knowledge of the subsistence of all nature in the essence of ,god1 precludes our knowledge of the positive existence of everything besides2 and our ideas of all entity and vacuity and of action and passion1 vanish into nothing4 7,since the ,one is all in all74 #f4 ,the one solid essence of the everlasting ,one1 is diffused through all every where1 as the solidity of a stone stretches throughout its parts2 and all varieties blending into unity1 are ever alike to him4 #g4 ,life and death1 truth and untruth1 and all good and evil1 are equally indifferent in that vacuous spirit1 as the endless billows continually rising and falling in the waters of the deep4 #h4 ,the selfsame ,brahma becomes divided1 into the viewer and the view 7i4e4 into the subjective and the objective72 the one being the intellect or the supreme1 and the other the living soul 7the former being the viewer of the latter74 ,this division is known in the dreaming and waking states of the living or animal soul2 when the same is both the subject as well the object in either state4 7i4e4 ,the sleeping soul dreams the living state as its object1 and the living soul believes the other as object of its dream74 #i4 ,in this manner the form of the world1 being exhibited as a vision in a dream1 in the sphere of the divine intellect2 is manifest therein as the counterpart or representation of ,brahma himself1 from the beginning4 7,this is the doctrine of the eternal ideas1 being co-existent with the essence of the eternal ,one74 #aj4 ,therefore know this world and all things in it1 to be exactly of that spiritual form1 in which they are exhibited in the divine spirit2 nor is there any variation in their spirituality 7to materiality7 owing to their appearance in various forms1 as there is no change in the substance of the moon1 owing to her several phases4 #aa4 ,all these worlds reside and rove amidst the quiet spirit of ,god1 in the same manner1 as the waters remain and roll in waves in the midst of the calm bosom of the ocean4 #ab4 ,whatever is manifest1 is manifested as the work1 and that which is not apparent is the hidden cause of them2 and there is no difference in them1 in as much as they are both situated in that spirit1 as their common centre2 just as a traveller ever going forward1 yet never moving from the centre of the earth4 7,the cause and effect both concentrate in the ,lord1 and there is no particle that goes out of that centre74 #ac4 ,hence the prime cause of creation is as nil1 as the horn of a hare 7which is a nullity in nature72 search for it as much as you can1 and you will find nothing 7save an ectype of the eternal ,one74 #ad4 ,whatever appears anywhere without its cause1 must be a fallacy of vision and mind2 and who can account for the truth of an error which is untrue itself4 7,falsehood is no truth74 #ae4 ,how and what effect can come to existence without its cause1 and what is it but an error of the brain1 for a childless man to say he sees his son4 #af4 ,whatever comes to appearance without its cause1 is all owing to the nature of our imagination of the same2 which shows the objects of our desire in all their various forms to our view1 as our fancy paints the fairy lands in our minds4 #ag4 ,as a traveller passing from one country to another1 finds his body 7himself7 to stand at the midspot 7from his knowledge of the rotundity of the earth72 so nothing departs from its nature1 but turns about that centre like4 #ah4 ,the understanding also shows many false and biggest objects1 in its airy and minute receptacle2 as for instance the many objects of desire1 and the notion of mountains1 which it presents to us in our waking and dreaming states4 #ai4 ,rma rejoined3--,we know well that the future banian tree1 resides within the minute receptacle of its seed2 why then don't you say1 that the creation was hidden in the same manner in the unevolved spirit of ,god8 #bj4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the seed in its material form1 contains the formless big tree in its undeveloped bosom2 which developes afterwards to a gigantic size1 by aid of the auxiliary causalities 7of heat1 rain c474 7,but ,god is formless spirit and cannot contain the material world in it1 nor has it the need of other helping causes to produce the world74 #ba4 ,the whole creation being dissolved in the end1 tell me what remains there of it in the form of its seed2 and what ancillary causes are there to be found1 which cause the production of the world4 7,nothing exists in nothing74 #bb4 ,the pure and transparent spirit of ,god1 has nothing of any possible shape or figure in it2 and if it is impossible for even an atom to find a place therein1 what possibility is there for a formal seed to exist or subsist in it4 #bc4 ,so the reality of a causal 7productive7 seed1 being altogether untrue2 there is no possibility of the existence of a real 7substantial7 world1 nor can you say how1 whence1 by whom and when it came into being4 #bd4 ,it is improper to say that the world consisted in a minute particle in the divine spirit1 and quite absurd to maintain that it remained in an eternal atom 7according to the atomic theory72 for how is it possible that a body as big as a mountain could be contained in a minim as small as a mustard seed8 ,it is therefore a false theory of the ignorant4 #be4 ,had there been a real seed from eternity1 it is possible for the world to be produced from it1 by causes inherent in the same2 but how could a real and formal seed1 be contained in the formless spirit of ,god2 and by what process could the material proceed from the immaterial8 #bf4 ,it is therefore that prime and transcendent principle 7of the divine spirit71 which exhibits itself in the form of the world2 and there is nothing which is ever produced from1 nor reduced into it4 #bg4 ,the world is situated in its intellectual form1 in the vacuity of the ,intellect2 it is the human heart which portrays it1 in its material shape4 ,the pure soul views it in its pure spiritual light1 but the perverted heart perceives it in a gross and concrete state4 #bh4 ,it appears in the mind as empty air1 and fluctuates there with the oscillation of the wind2 there is nothing of its substantiality in the mind1 nor even an idea of its creation 7or being a created thing71 as the word sarga is meant to express4 #bi4 ,as there is vacuity in the sky1 and fluidity in the water of its own nature2 so is there spirituality alone in the soul1 which views the world in a spiritual light only4 #cj4 ,the world is a reflexion of ,brahma1 and as such1 it is ,brahma himself1 and not a solid and extended thing2 it is without its beginning or end and quiet in its nature1 and never rises nor sets of itself4 7i4e4 ,it is inherent in the divinity1 and is neither involved in nor evolved from it74 #ca4 ,as a wise man going from one country to another1 finds his body to be ever situated in the midst of this globe2 so the universe with all its remotest worlds1 is situated in the vacuity of the divine spirit4 #cb4 ,as fluctuation is innate in the air1 and fluidity is inherent in water1 and vacuity is essential to vacuum2 so is this world intrinsic in the divine soul1 without anything concomitant with it4 #cc4 ,the vacuous phantom of the world1 is in the vacuum of divine consciousness or intellect2 and being thus situated in the ,supreme soul1 it has no rising nor setting as that of the sun4 ,therefore knowing all these to be included in that vacuum1 and there is nothing visible beside the same1 cease from viewing the phantoms of imagination1 and be as the very vacuity yourself4 ,,chapter ,,lv ,,the ,,spiritual ,,sense ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,the ignorance of self shows the world1 but the knowledge of self disperses it to nothing4 ,vasishtha continued3--,it is the thought and its absence1 that produce the gross and subtile ideas of the world2 which in reality was never created in the beginning for want of a creator of it 7i4e4 ,the identity of the world with ,brahma himself1 precludes the supposition of its creation74 #b4 ,the essence of the intellect being of an incorporeal nature1 cannot be the cause of a corporeal thing4 ,the soul cannot produce an embodied being1 as the seed brings forth the plants on earth4 #c4 ,it is the nature of man to think of things1 by his own nature1 and hence the intelligent of mankind view the world in an intellectual light1 while the ignorant take in a gross material sense4 ,the intellect being capable of conceiving everything in itself 7whether the concrete or discrete74 #d4 ,the etherial soul relishes things according to its taste1 and the intellect entertains the idea of whatever it thinks upon2 the ignorant soul begets the idea of creation1 as a giddy man sees many shapes in his intoxication4 #e4 ,whenever the shape of a thing1 which is neither produced nor existent1 presents itself to our sight2 it is to be known as a picture of the ideal figure1 which lies quietly in the divine mind4 #f4 ,the vacuous ,intellect dwelling in the vacuity of the intellect1 as fluidity resides in water2 shows itself in the form of the world1 as the fluid water displays itself in the form of waves upon its surface4 ,so the world is the self-same ,brahma1 as the wave is the very water4 7,but the world is intellectual display and not material as the wave74 #g4 ,the worlds shining in the empty air1 are as the clear visions of things in a dream1 or like the false appearances appearing to a dim-sighted man in the open sky4 #h4 ,the mirror of the intellect perceives the pageant of the world1 in the same manner1 as the mind sees the sights of things in dream4 ,hence what is termed the world1 is but void and vacuity4 7,a something of nothing74 #i4 ,the dormant ,intellect 7or the sleeping soul of ,god71 is said to be awakened in its first acts of creation2 and then follows the inaction of the intellect1 which is the sleep and night of the soul4 7,and so it is with all beings1 the time of their action being their waking1 and that of rest their sleep74 #aj4 ,as a river continues to run in the same course1 in which its current first began to flow2 so the whole creation moves in the same unvaried course as at first1 like the continuous current and rippling waves of rivers4 #aa4 ,as the waves of river are concomitant with the course of its waters1 so the source of creation lying in the vacuous seed of the airy ,intellect1 gives rise to its incessant course1 along with its ceaseless train of thoughts4 #ab4 ,the destruction of a man in his death1 is no more than the felicity of his repose in sleep2 so the resurrection of his soul 7in a renovated body7 in this world1 is likewise a renewal of his felicity4 7,hence there is neither pain nor fear1 either in living or dying but both is bliss74 #ac4 ,if there is any fear for or pain in sin1 it is equally so both in this life as well as in the next2 therefore the life and death of the righteous are equally as blissful 7as they are painful to the unrighteous74 #ad4 ,those who look on and hail their life and death1 with equal indifference2 are men that have an unbroken tranquility of their minds1 and are known as the cold-hearted 7or meek stoical and platonic74 #ae4 ,as the conscience becomes clear and bright1 after the dross of its consciousness 7of the subjective and objective71 is cleansed and wiped from it2 so shines the pure soul which they term the liberated and free 7mukta74 #af4 ,it is upon the utter absence of our consciousness1 that there ensues a total disappearance of our knowledge of the phenomenals also2 and then our intellect rises without a vestige of the intelligibles in it1 as also without its intelligence of the existence of the world4 7,this state of the mind constitutes likewise its liberation or mukti74 #ag4 ,he that knows ,god1 becomes unified with the divine nature1 which is neither thinkable nor of the nature of the thinking principle or intellect1 or any which is thought of by the intellect2 and being so absorbed in meditation1 remains quite indifferent to all worldly pursuits4 #ah4 ,the world is a reflexion of the mirror of the intellect1 and as it is exhibited in the transparent vacuity of the divine spirit1 it is in vain to talk of its bondage or liberty4 #ai4 ,it is the oscillation of the airy intellect1 and an act of its imagination1 which produces this imaginary world2 it is entirely of the nature of the airy spirit whence it has its rise1 and never of the form of the earth or anything else as it appears to be4 #bj4 ,there is no space or time1 nor any action or substance here1 except an only entity1 which is neither a nothing nor any thing that we know of4 #ba4 ,it is only a spiritual substance1 appearing as a thick mist to our sight2 it is neither a void nor a substantiality either3 but something purer and more pellucid1 than the transparent vacuum about us4 #bb4 ,it is formless with its apparent form1 and an unreality with its seeming reality2 it is entirely a pure intellectual entity1 and appearing as manifest to sight1 as an aerial castle in a dream4 #bc4 ,it is termed the nirvna-extinction of a man1 when his view of this outstretched gross and impure world1 becomes extinct in its pure spiritual form in the vacuity of his mind4 ,the vast and extensive world presenting all its endless varieties to view1 has no diversity in it in reality2 but forms an infinite unity1 like the vacuous space of the sky1 and the fluidity of waters of the one universal ocean on the globe4 ,,chapter ,,lvi4 ,,story ,,of ,,the ,,great ,,stone1 ,,and ,,vasishtha',s ,,meditation4 ,argument3--,here the story of the stone is given1 in elucidation of the truth that ,intellect is all in all4 ,vasishtha added3--,it being proved before1 that the ,intellect is always and every where1 and in every manner the all in all2 it becomes evident1 that it remains like the vacuous and translucent air in everything in the whole universe4 #b4 ,wherever there is the ,intellect1 there is also the creation 7inseparable from it72 the ,intellect residing alike both in the void as well as in the plenum1 all things are full of the ,intellect1 and there is nothing whatsoever in existence beside this universal ,intellect4 #c4 ,as all created things 7whether the moving or unmoving71 appear in their visionary forms in our dream2 so it is the vacuous ,intellect alone1 which appears in the various forms of existence in our waking dreams also4 #d4 ,attend now1 ,rma1 to my narration of the stone1 which be as pleasant to taste1 as a remedial of ignorance4 ,in this ,i will relate what ,i have seen and actually done myself4 #e4 ,being anxious to know the knowable ,one1 ,i was fully resolved in my mind1 to leave this world and all its erroneous usages4 #f4 ,i remained a long while in a state of calm and quiet meditation1 after having forsaken all the eagerness and restlessness of my body and mind1 for the sake of solitary peace and rest4 #g4 ,i then pondered in my mind1 of betaking myself to some seat or shrine of the ,gods2 and there sitting in quiet1 continue to survey the changing and transitory states of worldly things4 #h4 ,i find all things1 said ,i1 to be quite insipid to my taste1 though they seem to be pleasant for a while2 ,i never see any one in any place1 who is ever happy or content with his own state4 #i4 ,all things breed but care and sorrow1 with the acutest pangs of remorse and regret2 and all these phenomenals produce but evil1 from their appearance of good to the beholder of them4 7,thus the goodly bright aspects of the sun and moon1 are attended with sunstroke and lunacy to their observer74 #aj4 ,what is all this that comes to our view1 who is their viewer and what am ,i that look upon these visibles 7i4e4 what is this objective sight1 and what is this subjective self74 ,all this is the quiet and unborn spirit1 which flashes forth in the vacuous sky with the light of its own intellect4 #aa4 ,with thoughts as these1 ,i sought to retire from here to a proper place1 where ,i might confine myself1 in myself and which might be inaccessible to the gods and demi-gods1 and to the siddhas and other beings4 #ab4 ,where ,i might remain unseen by any being1 and sit quiet in my unalterable meditation2 by placing my sole reliance in one even and transparent soul1 and getting rid of all my cares and pains4 #ac4 ,ah6 where could ,i find such a spot1 which may be entirely void of all creatures2 and where ,i may not be distracted in my mind by interruptions of the objects of my five external organs of sense4 #ad4 ,i cannot choose the mountains for my seat1 where the whistling breeze of the forests1 the dashing noise of waterfalls1 and the concourse of wild animals1 serve to disquiet the mind1 without the capability of their being quieted by human power4 #ae4 ,the hills are crowded with hosts of elephants1 and the dales are filled with hordes of savage peoples1 the countries are full of heinous men1 more baneful than the poison of venomous serpents4 #af4 ,the seas are full of men 7on board the vessels71 and are filled with horrible beasts in their depth2 and the cities are disturbed with the din of business1 and the broil of the citizens4 #ag4 ,the foot of the mountains and the shores and coasts of seas and rivers1 are as thickly peopled as the realms of the rulers of men2 and even the summits of mountains and the caverns of infernal regions1 are not devoid of animal beings4 #ah4 ,the mountains are singing in the whistling of the breezes1 and the trees are dancing with the motion of their leafy palms2 and the blooming flowers are smiling gently1 in the caves of mountains and forest grounds and low lands4 #ai4 ,i cannot resort to the banks of rivers1 where the mute finny tribe dwell like the silent munis in their grottos1 and gently shake the water lilies by their giddy flirtation2 because this place is disturbed also by the loud noise of the sounding whirlpools1 and the hoarse uproar or roaring whirlwind4 #bj4 ,i can find no rest in the barren deserts1 where the howling winds are raising clouds of all engulfing dust1 nor can ,i resort to the mountain cataracts1 where the air resounds with the stunning noise of incessant waterfalls4 #ba4 ,then ,i thought of setting myself in some sequestered corner1 of the remote region of the sky2 where ,i might remain absorbed in my holy meditation without any disturbance4 #bb4 ,in this corner1 ,i thought of making a cell in my imagination1 and keeping myself quite pent up in its close cavity1 by an entire relinquishment of all my worldly desires4 #bc4 ,with these reflexions1 ,i mounted high in the blue vault of the sky2 and found the ample space in its womb to know no bounds 7and was identic with ,infinity itself74 #bd4 ,here ,i saw the siddhas 7perfected spirits7 roving in one place1 and the roaring clouds rolling in another2 in one side ,i beheld the vidydhara or accomplished spirits1 and the excelled yakskas on another4 7,heaven is the abode of perfected souls of all people at large74 #be4 ,in one spot ,i saw an aerial city1 and the region of the jarring winds in another2 ,i beheld the raining clouds on one side1 and raging yoginis or furies in another4 #bf4 ,there was the city of the ,daityas or demons1 hanging in the air on one side2 and the place of the ,gandarvas appearing in another4 ,the planetary sphere was rolling about in one way1 and the starry frame revolving at a distance4 #bg4 ,some where the sky was brushed over by flights of birds1 and great gales were raging in another part2 somewhere there appeared portents in the sky1 and elsewhere there were canopies of clouds formed in the heavens4 #bh4 ,one part of heaven was studded with cities1 peopled by strange kinds of beings2 the car of the sun was gliding on one side1 and the wheel of the lunar disk was sliding in another4 #bi4 ,one region of the sky was burning under the torrid sun1 and another part was cooled by the cooling moon-beams2 one part was intolerable to little animals and another was inaccessible owing to its intense heat4 #cj4 ,one place was full of dancing demons1 and another with flocks of flying garuda eagles2 one region was deluged by diluvian rains1 and another was infested by tempestuous winds4 #ca4 ,leaving these plenary parts behind1 ,i passed onward far and further2 when ,i reached to a region entirely desolate1 and devoid of everything 7i4e4 the increate vacuity74 #cb4 ,here the air was mild1 and no being was to be seen even in a dream2 there was no omen of good1 nor anything portentous of evils1 nor any sight or sign of world4 #cc4 ,i figured to myself in this place1 a solitary cell with some space in it2 and it was without any passage for egress1 and was as goodly as the unblown bed of a lotus4 #cd4 ,it was not perforated by worms1 but was as handsome as the bright disk of the full-moon2 and as lovely as the comely features of the lily and lotus1 jasmine and mandara flowers4 #ce4 ,this abode of my imagination1 was inaccessible to all other beings but to myself2 and ,i sat there alone with only my thoughts and creations of my imagination by myself4 #cf4 ,i remained quite silent and calm in my mind1 in my posture of ,padmsana 7or yoga meditation72 and then rose from my seat at the expiration of a hundred years1 after my acquirement of spiritual knowledge4 #cg4 ,i sat in unwavering meditation1 and was absorbed in a fit of hypnotism2 ,i remained as quiet as the calm stillness of the air1 and as immovable as a statue carved in relief upon the face of the sky4 #ch4 ,at last ,i found out in my mind1 what it had been long searching after in earnest2 and at last the breath of my expectation returned into my nostrils4 7,parting breath of longing returns with the longed for object74 #ci4 ,the seed of knowledge which ,i had sown in the field of my mind1 came to sprout forth of itself from the midst of it1 after the lapse of a whole century4 #dj4 ,my life or living soul1 is now awakened to its intuitive knowledge 7of truth72 as a tree left withered by the dewy season1 becomes revivified by the moisture of the renovating spring4 #da4 ,the hundred years which ,i passed in my meditation here1 glided away as quickly as a single moment before me2 because a long period of time appears a very short space1 to one who is intensively intent upon a single object4 7,whereas the succession of thoughts be an unchanging duration of the same moment to him who is fixed in his mind74 #db4 ,now my outward senses had their expansion1 from their contracted state 7in my meditative mind72 just as the withered arbors expand themselves into flowers and foliage1 by the enlivening influence of the vernal season4 #dc4 ,then the vital airs filled the organs of my body1 and restored my consciousness of their sensations2 soon after ,i was seized upon by the demon of my egoism1 accompanied by its consort of desire2 and these began to move to and fro1 just as the strong winds shake the sturdy oaks4 ,,chapter ,,lvii4 ,,on ,,the ,,knowledge ,,of ,,the ,,known ,,and ,,unknown4 ,argument3--,difference of ,egoism in wise and in common people1 and ,disappearance of visibles4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me1 ,o most sapient sage1 how it is possible for the demon of ego to take hold of you1 that are extinct in the deity1 and dissipate my doubts there4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is impossible1 ,o ,rma1 for any being whether knowing or unknown to live here without the sense of his egoism2 as it is not possible for the contained to subsist without its container4 #c4 ,but there is a difference of this which you must know1 that the demoniac egoism of the quiet minded man1 is capable of control by means of his knowledge of and attention to the srutis4 #d4 ,it is the infantine ignorance which raises up this idol of egoism1 though it is found to exist no where2 just as little children make dolls and images of gods and men1 that have no existence at all4 #e4 ,this ignorance also 7which is the cause of egoism71 is nothing positive of itself2 since it is dispelled by knowledge and reason1 as darkness is driven away by the light of a lamp4 7,ignorance and darkness are but negative terms74 #f4 ,ignorance is a demon that dances about in the dark1 and a fiend that flies afar before the light of reason4 7,hence the disappearance of ignorance causes our egoism to disappear also74 #g4 ,granting the existence of ignorance1 in absence of the advance of knowledge and reason2 yet it is at best but a fiend of delusion1 and is as shapeless as the darkest night 7,when nothing is to be seen74 #h4 ,granting the existence of creation1 we have no trace of ignorance any where in it 7since creation is the production of omniscience1 there is no nescience in any part of7 the existence of two moons in the sky4 #i4 ,creation having no other cause 7but ,god himself71 we know not how could ignorance find a place in it2 just so it is impossible for a tree to grow in the air 7which ,god hath made void1 barren1 and bare74 7,god hath planted the tree of knowledge in the garden of ,eden1 but no tree of ignorance did ,he set any where74 #aj4 ,when creation began and was begotten in the beginning1 in its pure and subtile form in the womb of absolute vacuum 7or the mind of ,god72 how is it possible for the material bodies of earth and water to proceed 7from the immaterial spirit7 without a material cause8 #aa4 ,the ,lord is beyond 7the conception of7 the mind1 and 7the perception of7 the six senses1 and is yet the source of the mind and senses2 but how could that formless and incorporeal being1 be the cause of material and corporeal things8 #ab4 ,the germ is the effect 7or product71 germinating from its causal source--the seed2 but how and where can you expect to see the sprout springing without the productive seed8 #ac4 ,no effect can ever result1 without its formal cause or main-spring2 say who has ever seen or found a tree to spring from and grow in empty air4 7,nihil ex nihilo fit1 et nihil in nihilum reverte posse74 #ad4 ,it is imagination alone that paints these prospects in the mind1 just as the fume of fancy shows you the sight of trees in the empty air2 so it is the phrensy of the mind1 that exhibits these phenomena before your eyes1 but which in reality have no essentiality in them4 #ae4 ,so1 the universe as it appeared at its first creation1 in the vacuity of the divine intellect2 was all a congeries of worlds swimming in empty air 7in their hollow ideal shapes74 #af4 7,but the universe is not altogether a void and nihility74 ,it is the same as it shines itself in the spacious intellect of the supreme soul 7or spirit72 it is the divine nature itself which is termed as creation1 and which is an intellectual system having proceeded from the intellect1 and the self-same divinity4 #ag4 ,the vision of the world which is presented in our dream1 and which is of daily occurrence to us1 furnishes us with the best instance of this2 when we are conscious of the sights of cities1 and of the appearance of hills1 all before our mental eyes in the dreaming state4 7,so this world is but a dream74 #ah4 ,it is the nature of the ,intellect as that of a dream1 to see the vision of creation1 as we view the appearance of the uncreated creation before our eyes1 in the same manner as it appeared at first in the vast void 7of divine mind74 #ai4 ,there is but one unintelligible intelligence1 a purely unborn and imperishable being1 that appears now before us in the shape of this creation1 as it existed with its everlasting ideas of infinite worlds1 before this creation began4 #bj4 ,there is no creation here1 nor these orbs of earth and others2 it is all calm and quiet with but ,one ,brahma seated in his immensity4 #ba4 ,this ,brahma is omnipotent and as ,he manifests himself in any manner1 ,he instantly becomes as such without forsaking his purely transparent form4 #bb4 ,as our intellect shows itself1 in the form of visionary cities in our dream2 so doth the divine intellect exhibit itself1 in the forms of all these worlds1 at the commencement of their creation4 #bc4 ,it is in the transparent and transcendent vacuum of the ,intellect1 that the vacuous intellect is situated2 and the creation is the display of its own nature1 by an act of its thought in itself4 7,there is a large note explanatory of this passage74 #bd4 ,the whole creation consists in the clear vacuity of the intellect1 and is of the nature of the spirit situated in the spirit of ,god4 7,the world exists in its spiritual form in the ample space of the divine spirit74 #be4 ,the whole creation being but the diffusion of the selfsame spiritual essence of ,god1 there is no possibility of the existence of a material world or ignorance or egoism1 in the creation and pervasivefulness of the ,supreme spirit4 #bf4 ,everything have ,i told you all about the desinence of your egoism1 and one knowing the unreality of his egoisticism1 gets rid of his false belief1 as a boy is freed from his fear of a ghost4 #bg4 ,in this manner1 no sooner was ,i fully convinced of the futility of egoism1 than ,i lost the sense of my personality2 and though ,i retained fully the consciousness of myself1 yet ,i got freed from my selfishness1 as a light autumnal cloud by disloading its watery burden4 #bh4 ,as our knowledge of the inefficacy of a flaming fire in painting1 removes the fear of our being burnt by it2 so our connection of our fallacies of egoism and creation1 serves to efface the impressions of the subjective and objective from our minds4 #bi4 ,thus when ,i was delivered from my egoism1 and set to the tranquility of my passions2 ,i then found myself seated in an unatmospheric firmament 7which was free from cloud and rain72 and in an uncreated creation 7i4e4 in the everlasting vacuity or eternal sunshine of heaven74 #cj4 ,i am none of egoism1 nor is it anything to me2 having got rid of it1 ,i have become one with clear intellectual vacuum4 #ca4 ,in this respect1 all intelligent men are of the same opinion with myself2 as it is well known to them that our notion of egoism is as false1 as the fallacy of fire represented in a painting4 #cb4 ,being certain of the unreality of yourself and of others1 and of the nihility of everything beside2 conduct yourself in all your dealings with indifference1 and remain as mute as a stone4 #cc4 ,let your mind shine with the clearness of the vault of heaven1 and be as impregnable to the excess of all thoughts and feelings as solid stone4 ,know that there is but ,one ,intellectual essence from beginning to end1 and that there nothing to be seen except the ,one-deity1 who composes the whole plenum4 ,,chapter ,,lviii4 ,,proving ,,the ,,creation ,,as ,,divine ,,attribute4 ,argument3--,the ,eternity and infinity of creation1 elucidated in the story of the block of stone4 ,rma said3--,o venerable sir1 what an extensive1 noble1 grand and clear prospect have you exposed to my sight2 7by showing the infinite of time and place to be composed of the essence of the supreme deity74 #b4 ,i find also by my percipience1 that the entity of the ,one and sole ,ens1 fills the whole space at all times and places2 and that it is the essence which shows itself alike in every manner and form always and every where forever and evermore4 #c4 ,i have yet some scruples sir1 rankling in my breast1 and hope you will please to remove them1 by explaining unto me the meaning of your story of the stone 7you mentioned before74 #d4 ,vasishtha replied3--,rma1 ,i will relate to you the story of the stone1 in order to stablish that this whole or the plenum1 is existent in all times and in all places 7with the ,divine essence74 #e4 ,i will elucidate to you by means of this story1 how thousands of worlds are contained within the compact and solid body of a stone 7as the thoughts of all things1 are comprised in the density of the ,divine ,intellect74 #f4 ,i will also show to you in this story1 how the grand material world 7which is as compact as a stone1 is contained in its immaterial or airy ideal state1 in the vast vacuity of the divine mind74 #g4 ,you will also find from this story1 that there is in the midst of all plants and their seeds1 and in the hearts of all living animals1 as also in the bosom of the elementary bodies of water and air as of earth and fire1 sufficient space containing thousands of productions of their own kinds4 #h4 ,rma rejoined3--,if you say1 ,o sage1 that all vegetables and living beings are full with the productions of their respective kinds1 then why is it that we do not perceive the numerous productions1 which abound in the empty air8 #i4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i have already told you ,rma1 much about this first and essential truth2 that the whole of this creation which appears to our sight1 is empty air and subsisting in the inane vacuum only4 #aj4 ,in the first place there is nothing that was ever produced in the beginning1 nor is there anything which is in existence at present2 all this that appears as visible to us is no other than ,brahma ,himself1 and subsisting in his ,brahmic or plenary immensity or fullness4 7,so the sruti3 ,the ,lord is full in the fulness of his creation c474 #aa4 ,there is no room for an atom of earth1 to find its place in the fulness of the divine ,intellect1 which is filled with its ideal worlds2 nor do the material worlds exist in ,brahma1 who is of the form of pure vacuum4 #ab4 ,there is no room even for a spark of fire1 to have its place in the intellectual creation of ,god which admits of no gap or pore in it2 nor do these worlds exist in any part of ,brahma1 who is entirely a pure vacuity4 #ac4 ,there is no possibility also for a breath of air1 to subsist in the imporous fulness of the intellectual creation of ,god2 nor doth any of these 7earthly1 luminous or aerial7 worlds1 exist in the purely vacuous ,intellect of ,brahma4 #ad4 ,there is not even a jot of the visible vacuity1 that finds a place in the intensity of the ideal creation in the divine mind2 nor is it possible for any of these visible worlds1 to subsist in the compact vacuum of the deity4 #ae4 ,the five great elementary bodies1 have no room in the consolidated creation of ,god1 which subsists in its vacuous form in the vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect4 #af4 ,there is nothing created any where1 but it is the vacuum and in the vacuity of the great spirit of ,god4 #ag4 ,there is no atom of the great spirit of ,god1 which is not full of creations or created things2 nor is there any creation or created thing1 but is the void and in the vacancy of the ,divine spirit4 #ah4 ,there is no particle of ,brahma1 distributed in the creation3 because the ,lord is spirit1 and always full in ,himself4 7,the ,divine soul1 admits no materiality nor divisibility in its nature74 #ai4 ,the creation is the supreme ,brahma1 and the ,lord is the creation itself2 there is not the slightest tint of dualism in them1 as there is no duality of fire and its heat4 #bj4 ,it is improper to say that this is creation and the other is ,brahma1 and to think them as different from one another2 just as it is wrong to consider a dru and drya 7a tree and tearable7 as two things1 from the difference in the sounds of the words 7of the same meaning74 7,so ,brahma immensity and srishti--creation are synonymous terms differing in sound74 #ba4 ,there exists no difference of them1 when their duality disappears into unity2 and when we can not have any idea of their difference1 unless we support the gross dualistic theory 7which is absurd74 #bb4 ,we know all this as one clear and transparent space1 which is without its beginning and end1 and quite indestructible and tranquil in its nature2 and knowing this all wise men remain as mute as a piece of solid stone1 even when they are employed in business4 #bc4 ,look at this whole creation as whether extinct in the ,deity1 and view the visible world as a vast void only2 look upon your egoism and tuism as mere fallacies1 and behold the ,gods and demigods and the hills and everything else as the visionary appearances in our dream1 which spread their nil of delusion over the minds of men 7even in their waking state74 ,,chapter ,,lix4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,net ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,vasishtha's hearing a faint sound after his hybernation and his coming to the sight of endless worlds afterwards4 ,rma rejoined3--,relate to me1 ,o sage1 of your acts of a whole century1 after you had risen from your trance1 in the cell of your aerial abode4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,after ,i had awakened from my trance1 ,i heard a soft and sweet sound1 which was slow but distinctly audible1 and was clearly intelligible both in sound and sense4 #c4 ,it was as soft and sweet1 as if it proceeded from female voice2 and musical to the ear2 and as it was neither loud nor harsh owing to its effeminacy1 ,i kept to watch whence the words were heard4 #d4 ,it was as sweet as the humming of the bees1 and as pleasing as the tune of wired instruments2 it was neither the chime of crying nor the rumble of reading1 but as the buzzing of black bees1 known to men as the visa-koshi strain in vocal music4 #e4 ,hearing this strain for a long time1 and seeking in vain whence it came1 ,i thought within myself3 8,it is a wonder that ,i hear the sound1 without knowing its author1 and from which of the ten sides of heaven it proceeds40 #f4 ,this part of the heavens1 said ,i1 is the path of the siddhas 7or spirits of sanctified saints71 and on the other side ,i see an endless vacuity2 ,i passed over millions of miles that way1 and then ,i sat there awhile and pondered in my mind4 #g4 ,how could such feminine voice1 proceed from such a remote and solitary quarter2 where ,i see no vocalist with all my diligent search4 #h4 ,i see the infinite space of the clear and inane sky lying before me1 where ,i find no visible being appearing to my sight notwithstanding all my diligent search4 #i4 ,as ,i was thinking in this manner1 and looking repeatedly on all sides1 without seeing the maker of the sonant sound2 ,i thought on a plan in the following manner4 #aj4 ,that ,i must transform myself to air1 and be one with the inane vacuum2 and then make some sound in the empty air1 which is the receptacle of sound4 7,the air is said to be the vehicle and medium of sound1 which is called the property of air74 #aa4 ,i thought on leaving my body in its posture of meditation1 as ,i was sitting before2 and with the vacuous body of my intellect1 mix with the inane vacuum1 as a drop of water mixes with water4 #ab4 ,thinking so1 ,i was about to forsake my material frame1 by sitting in my posture of ,padmsana1 and betaking myself to my samdhi or intense meditation1 and shut my eyes closely against all external sights4 #ac4 ,having then given up my sensations of all external objects of sense1 ,i became as void as my intellectual vacuum1 preserving only the feeling of my consciousness in myself4 #ad4 ,by degrees ,i lost my consciousness also1 ,i became a thinking principle only2 and then ,i remained in my intellectual sphere as a mirror of the world 7i4e4 to reflect the reflexions of all worldly things in their abstracted light74 #ae4 ,then with that vacuous nature of mine1 ,i became one with the universal vacuum2 and melted away as a drop of water with the common water1 and mixed as an odour in the universal receptacle of empty air4 #af4 ,being assimilated to the great vacuum1 which is omnipresent and pervades over the infinite space2 ,i became like the endless void1 the reservoir and support of all1 although ,i was formless and supportless myself4 #ag4 ,in my formless 7of endless space71 ,i began to look into myriads of worlds and mundane eggs1 that lay countless in my infinite and unconscious bosom4 #ah4 ,these worlds were apart from1 and unseen by and unknown to one another2 and appeared with all their motions and manners1 as mere spaces to each other 7i4e4 they are at such great distance that they could not be seen all at once74 #ai4 ,as visions in a dream appearing thickly to a dreaming man1 and as nothing to the sleeping person2 so the empty space abounds with worlds to their observers1 and as quite vacant to the unobservant spiritualist4 #bj4 ,here many things are born1 to grow and decay and die away at last2 and what is present is reckoned with the past1 and what was in the womb of futurity1 comes to existence in numbers4 #ba4 ,many magic scenes and many aerial castles and buildings1 together with many a kingdom and palace1 are built in this empty air1 by the imaginations of men4 #bb4 ,here there were to be seen many edifices with several apartments counting from unit to the digit 7and these are the various systems of philosophy1 with one and many more number1 of their respective categories74 #bc4 ,there were some structures1 constructed with ten or sixteen apartments2 and others which had dozens and three dozens of doors1 attached to them4 7,the predicaments of the ,nyya and ,jaina systems of philosophy4 ,but ,buddhism or ,jain ,atheism is called ,nirvarana1 having no category but vacuity74 #bd4 ,the whole ethereal space is full of the five primary elements1 which compose elementary bodies of single or double and triple natures4 #be4 ,some of these bodies are composed of quadruple1 quintuple and hextuple elements1 and others of seven different elementary principles called seven fold great elements--,sapta-mah-bhutas4 7,they are the five subtile elements of earth1 water1 fire1 air and vacuum1 and the two principles of time and space1 all which subsist in vacuity74 #bf4 ,so there are many super-natural natures1 which are beyond the power of your conception 7as the ,gods1 demons and other etherial beings71 and so there are spaces of everlasting darkness1 without the light of the sun and moon4 #bg4 ,some parts of the void were devoid of creation1 and others were occupied by ,brahm the creator--their master1 some parts were under the dominion of the patriarchs or lords of creatures1 and under influence of various customs4 #bh4 ,some parts were under the control of the vedas1 and others were ungoverned by regulations of sstras2 some parts were full of insects and worms1 and others were peopled by gods and other living beings4 #bi4 ,in some parts the burning fires of daily oblations were seen to rise1 and at others the people were observant of the traditional usages of their respective tribes only 7without knowing their reasons74 #cj4 ,some parts were filled with water1 and others were the regions of storms2 some bodies were fixed in the remote sky1 and others were roving and revolving in it continually4 #ca4 ,the growing trees were blossoming in some parts1 and others were fructifying and ripening at others4 ,there were the grazing animals moving pronely in some place1 and others were teeming with living beings4 #cb4 ,the ,lord alone is the whole creation1 and ,he only is the totality of mankind2 ,he is the whole multitude of demons1 and ,he too is the whole shoal of worms every where4 #cc4 ,he is not afar from anything1 but is present in every atom that is contained in his bosom4 ,all things are growing and grown up in the cell of vacuity1 like the coatings of the plantain tree4 #cd4 ,many things are growing unseen and unknown to each other1 and never thought of together1 such are the dreams of soldiers which are unseen by others4 #ce4 ,there are endless varieties of creations1 in the unbounded womb of vacuum1 all of different natures and manners2 and there are no two things of the same character and feature4 #cf4 ,all men are of different sstras1 faiths and persuasions from one another1 and these are of endless varieties2 they are as different in their habits and customs1 as they are separated from each other in their habitations and localities4 #cg4 ,so there are worlds above worlds1 and the spheres of the spirits over one another2 so there are a great many big elemental bodies1 like the hills and mountains that come to our sight4 #ch4 ,it will be impossible for understandings like yours1 to comprehend the incoherent 7unusual7 things1 which are spoken by men like ourselves 7i4e4 inspired sages1 who talk of wonders beyond the common comprehension74 #ci4 ,we must derive the atoms of spiritual light1 which proceeds from the sphere of vacuum2 as we feel the particles of mental light which issues from the orb of sun of our intellect4 7,here the author speaks of the lights of the sun1 intellect and spirit74 #dj4 ,some are born to remain just as they are1 and become of no use to any one at all2 and others become some what like themselves as the leaves of forest trees4 #da4 ,some are equal to others1 and many that are unlike to them2 for sometime as alike to one another1 and at others they differ in their shapes and nature 7it is difficult to make out the meaning of these passages1 not given in the gloss74 #db4 ,hence there are various results of the great tree of spirituality1 among which some are of the same kinds and others1 of different sorts4 #dc4 ,some of these are of short duration1 and others endure for longer periods2 there are some of temporary existence1 and others endure for ever4 #dd4 ,some have no determinate time 7for want of the sun and moon71 to regulate its course2 and others are spontaneous in their growth and continuance4 #de4 ,the different regions of the sky1 which lie in the concavity of boundless vacuum1 are in existence from unknown periods of time1 and in a state beyond the reach of our knowledge4 #df4 ,these regions of the sky1 this sun and these seas and mountains1 which are seen to rise by hundreds to our sights1 are the wonderful display of our ,intellect in the sky1 like the chain of dreams in our sleep4 #dg4 ,it is from our erroneous notions1 and the false idea of a creative cause1 that we take the unreal earth and all other appearances as they are really existent ones4 #dh4 ,like the appearance of water in the mirage1 and the sight of two moons in the sky2 do these unreal phenomena present themselves to our view1 although they are altogether false4 #di4 ,it is the imaginative power of the ,intellect1 which create these images as clouds in the empty air2 they are raised high by the wind of our desire1 and roll about with our exertions and pursuits4 #ej4 ,we see the gods1 demigods and men1 flying about like flies and gnats about a fig tree2 and its luscious fruits are seen to hang about it1 and shake with the winds of heaven4 #ea4 ,it is only from the naturally creative imagination of the ,intellect1 likening the sportive disposition of boys1 that the toys of fairy shapes are shown in the empty air4 #eb4 ,the false impressions of ,i1 thou1 he and this1 are as firmly affixed in the mind1 as the clay dolls of boys are hardened in the sunlight and heat4 #ec4 ,it is the playful and ever active destiny1 that works all these changes in nature2 as the genial vernal season1 fructifies the forest with its moisture4 #ed4 ,those that are called the great causes of creation1 are no causes of it2 nor are those that are said to be created1 created all1 but all is a perfect void4 ,they have sprung of themselves in the vacuity of the ,intellect4 #ee4 ,they all exist in their intellectual form1 though they appear to be manifest as otherwise2 the perceptibles are all imperceptible1 and the existent is altogether inexistent4 #ef4 ,the fourteen worlds1 and the eleven kinds of created beings2 are all the same in the inner intellect1 as they appear to the outward sight4 #eg4 ,the heaven and earth1 and the infernal regions1 and the whole host of our friends and foes1 are all nullities in their true sense though they seem to be very busy in appearance4 #eh4 ,all things are as inelastic fluid1 as the fluidity of the sea waters2 they are as fragile as the waves of the sea in their inside1 though they appear as solid substances on the outside4 #ei4 ,they are the reflexions of the supreme soul1 as the day light is that of the sun2 they all proceed from and melt away into the vacuous air as the gusts of winds4 #fj4 ,the egoistic understanding1 is the tree bearing the foliage of our thoughts4 #fa4 ,the rituals and their rewards1 which are prescribed in the vedas and purnas1 are as the fanciful dreams occurring in light sleep2 but they are buried into oblivion by them and are led up in the sound sleep like the dead4 #fb4 ,the ,intellect like a ,gandharva architect1 is in the act of building many fairy cities in the forest of intellectuality1 and lighted with the light of its reason1 blazing as the bright sun-beams4 #fc4 ,in this manner1 ,o ,rma1 ,i beheld in my meditative revelry1 many worlds to be created and scattered without any cause1 as a blind man sees many false sights in the open air4 ,,chapter ,,lx4 ,,the ,,network ,,of ,,worlds 7,,continued74 ,argument3--,vasishtha sees the siren songstresses in his ,reveries and then turns to his meditation of the world4 ,vasishtha continued3--,then ,i went on forward to find out the spot of the etherial sounds1 and continued journeying onward in the vacuous region of my excogitation1 without any interruption from any side4 #b4 ,i heard far beyond me the sound that came to my ears1 resembling the jingling thrill of the ,indian lute2 it became more distinct as ,i appeared nearer to it1 till ,i heard the metrical cadence of ,arya measure in it4 #c4 ,as ,i glanced in my meditation at the site of the sound1 ,i beheld a damsel on one side as fair as liquid gold1 and brightening that part of the sky 7by the blaze of her beauteous body74 #d4 ,she had necklaces pendant on her loose garments1 and her eyelashes were tinged with lac-dye1 and with loosened traces and fluttering locks of her hair1 she appeared as the goddess of prosperity 7sitting in the air74 #e4 ,her limbs were as calm and handsome1 as they were made of pure gold2 and sitting on the way side with the near-blown bloom of her youth1 she was as odorous as the goddess ,flora1 and handsome in every part of her body4 #f4 ,her face was like the full moon1 and was smiling as a cluster of flowers2 her countenance was flushed with her youth1 and her eyelids betokened her good fortune4 #g4 ,she was seated under the vault of heaven1 with the brightness of her beauty blooming as the beams of the full moon2 and decorated with ornaments of pearls1 she walked gracefully towards me4 #h4 ,she recited with her sweet voice1 the verses in the ,arya metre by my side2 and smiled as she recited them in a high tone of her voice1 saying3-- #i4 ,i salute thee1 ,o sage1 she said1 whose mind is freed from the evil propensities of those1 that are deluded to fall into the currents of this world2 and to whom you are a support1 as a tree standing on its border4 #aj4 ,hearing this ,i looked upon that sonant charming face1 and seeing the maiden with whom ,i had nothing to do1 ,i disregarded her and went on forward4 #aa4 ,i was then struck with wonder1 on viewing the magic display of the mundane system1 and was inclined to wander through the air1 by slighting the company of the damsel4 #ab4 ,with this intention in my mind1 ,i left the etherial dame in the air2 and assumed an aerial form in order to traverse the etherial regions1 and scan the phantasmagoria of the world4 #ac4 ,as ,i went on viewing the wondrous worlds1 scattered about in the empty sky2 ,i found them no better than empty dreams1 or the fictions in works of imagination4 #ad4 ,i neither saw nor ever heard of anything at any place1 about those creations and creatures1 that existed in those former kalpas and great kalpa ages of the world 7nor the world destroying deluges of yore74 #ae4 ,i did not see the furious pushkara and varta clouds 7of the great deluge71 nor the portentous and raging whirlwinds of old2 ,i heard no thunder claps1 that split the mighty mountains1 and broke the worlds asunder4 #af4 ,the conflagration of diluvian fire1 which cracked the edifices of ,cuvera1 and the burning rays of a dozen of solar orbs were to be seen no more4 #ag4 ,the lofty abodes of the gods1 which were hurled headlong on the ground1 and the crackling noise of the falling mountains1 were no more to be seen or heard4 #ah4 ,the flame of the diluvian fire1 which raged with tremendous roar all about1 and boiled and burnt away the waters of the etherial oceans1 were now no more4 #ai4 ,there was no more that hideous rushing of waters1 which over flooded the abodes of the gods1 demigods and men2 nor that swelling of the seven oceans1 which filled the whole world1 up to the face of the solar orb4 #bj4 ,the peoples all lay dead and insensible of the universal deluge1 like men laid up in dead sleep1 and sung the battle affray in their sleep4 #ba4 ,i beheld thousands of ,brahms1 ,rudras and ,vishnus1 disappearing in the different kalpa or diluvian ages of the world4 #bb4 ,i then dived in my excogitation1 into those dark and dreary depths of time1 when there were no kalpa nor yuga ages1 nor years and days and nights1 nor the sun and moon1 nor the creation and destruction of the world4 #bc4 ,all these ,i beheld in my intellect1 which is all in all1 to which all things belong1 and which is in every place2 it is the intellect which engrosses every thing in itself1 and shows itself in all forms4 #bd4 ,whatever1 ,o ,rma1 you say to be anything1 know that thing to be the intellect only2 and this thing being rarer than the subtile air1 know it next to nothing4 #be4 ,therefore it is this empty air1 which exhibits every thing in it under the name of the world2 and as the sound proceeding from the empty air1 melts again into the air1 so all things are aerial and the transcendent air only4 #bf4 ,all these phenomena and their sight are simply erroneous1 and appertain to the vacuous intellect alone2 and are exhibited as foliage of the aerial tree 7which ,i know is false and nothing74 #bg4 ,the intellect and vacuum are identic and of the same nature with themselves1 and this ,i came to understand from the entire absence of all my desires4 #bh4 ,these worlds that are linked together in the chain of the universe1 and lie within the limits of the ten sides of it1 are but ,one ,brahma only2 and the infinite vacuity1 with all its parts of space and time1 and all forms of things and actions1 are the substance and essence of ,brahma only4 #bi4 ,in this manner1 ,i saw in manifold worlds that were manifested before me1 many a great muni like myself2 all sons of the great ,brahm1 and named as ,vasishthas1 and men of great holiness and piety4 #cj4 ,i saw many revolutions of the tret age1 with as many ,rmas in them2 ,i marked the rotation of many ,satya and ,dwpara periods 7the golden and brazen ages7 of the world1 which ,i counted by hundreds and thousands4 #ca4 ,from my common sense of concrete particulars1 ,i saw this changing state of created things2 but by the powers of my reflexion and generalization1 ,i found them all to be but one ,brahma1 extended as the infinite vacuity from all eternity4 #cb4 ,it is not to be supposed1 that the world subsists in ,brahma or ,he in this 7as either the container or contained of the whole72 but ,brahma is the uncreated and endless all himself1 and whatever bears a name or is thought of in our understanding4 #cc4 ,he is like a block of silent stone1 that bears no name or epithet2 but is of the form of pure light1 which is termed the world also4 #cd4 ,this light shines within the sphere of the infinite intellect1 which is beyond the limit of our finite intelligence2 it manifests itself in the form of the world1 which is as formless as the other1 and is as unknown to us1 as anything in our dreamless sleep4 #ce4 ,brahma is no other than himself1 and all else is only his reflexion2 ,his light is the light of the world1 and shows us all things like the solar light4 #cf4 ,it is by that light1 that these thousands of worlds appear to view2 and that we have the notion of heat in the lunar disk1 and of cold in the solar orb787 #cg4 ,we see some creatures that see in the dark1 and do not see in the day light2 such are the owls and bats 7asses871 and so there are men of the same kind4 #ch4 ,there are many here1 that are lost by their goodness1 while there are others1 who thrive and ascend to heaven by their wickedness2 some that come to life by drinking of poison1 and many that die by the taste of nectar4 #ci4 ,whatever a thing appears to be by itself1 or whatsoever is thought of it in the understanding of another1 the same comes to occur and is presented to the lot of every one1 be it good or evil4 #dj4 ,the world is a hanging garden in the air1 with all its orbs fixed as trees with their firm roots in it and yet rolling and revolving about1 like the shaking leaves and tossing fruits of this arbour4 #da4 ,the sand like mustard seeds being crushed under stony oil mills1 yield the fluid substance of oil2 and the tender flower of lotus1 grows out of the clefts of rocks4 7,so things of one nature produce another of a different kind74 #db4 ,the moving images that are carved out of stone or wood1 are seen to be set in the company of goddesses2 and to converse with them4 7,the gloss gives no explanation of this unintelligible passage74 #dc4 ,the clouds of heaven are seen to shroud many things as their vests1 and many trees are found to produce fruits of different kinds every year4 #dd4 ,all terrestrial animals are seen to move upon the earth1 in different and changing forms with different kinds of the members of their bodies and heads4 #de4 ,the lower worlds 7regions7 are filled with human beings1 that are without the pale of the vedas and sstras2 and live without any faith1 religion1 and lead their lives in the state of beasts4 #df4 ,some places are peopled by heartless peoples1 who are without the feelings of love and desire2 and others who are not born of women1 but appear to be strewn as stones on the ground4 #dg4 ,there are some places1 which are full of serpents that feed upon air only2 and others where gems and stones are taken in an indifferent light2 some again where the indigent are without avarice and pride4 #dh4 ,there were some beings1 who look on their individual souls1 and not on those of others2 and others who regard the universal soul1 that resides alike in all4 7i4e4 ,in all the four kinds of living creatures74 #di4 ,as the hairs and nails and other members of a person1 are parts of his same body1 though they grow in different parts of it2 so do all beings appertain to the ,one universal soul1 which is to be looked upon in all4 #ej4 ,the one infinite and boundless vacuum1 seems as many skies about the different worlds which it encompasseth2 and it is by the exertion of ,divine energy1 that these empty spaces are filled with worlds4 #ea4 ,there are some who are entirely ignorant of the meaning of the word liberation 7which is freedom from the knowledge of everything beside ,brahma72 and move about as wooden machines without any sense in them4 #eb4 ,some creatures have no knowledge of astronomical calculation1 and are ignorant of the course of time2 while there are others quite deaf and dumb1 and conduct themselves by signs and motions of their bodies4 #ec4 ,some are devoid of the sense of sight of their eyes1 and the light of the sun and moon1 are all in vain to them4 #ed4 ,some have no life in them1 and others have no sense of smelling the sweet odours2 some are quite mute and cannot utter any sound1 while others are deprived of the sense of their hearing4 #ee4 ,there are some who are entirely dumb1 and without the power of speech2 and some again that having no power of touch or feeling1 are as insensible blocks or stones4 #ef4 ,some have their sense 7of conception7 only1 without possessing the organs of sense2 and others that manage themselves as foul ,pischas or goblins1 and are therefore inadmissible in human society4 #eg4 ,there are some made of one material only 7as solid earth71 and others have no solidity in them 7as air c472 some are composed of the watery substance1 and others are full of fiery matter in them4 #eh4 ,some are full of air1 and some there are of all forms 7i4e4 capable to do anything74 ,all these are of vacuous forms1 and are shown in the vacuity of the understanding4 7,this is an effect of a yoga called prakmya siddhi or the power of seeing every thing in the mind or imagination74 #ei4 ,so the surface of the earth1 and air and water1 teem with living beings1 and the frogs live in the cell of stones1 and the insects dwell in the womb of the earth4 #fj4 ,there are living beings living in vast bodies of water1 as in lands1 forests and mountains2 and so there are living creatures skimming in the other elements and air1 as the finny tribes move about and swim in the air4 #fa4 ,there are living things also1 peopling the element of fire1 and moving in fiery places1 where there is no water to be had2 and there they are flying and flitting about as sparks and particles of fire4 #fb4 ,the regions of air are also filled with other kinds of living beings2 and these have airy bodies like the bilious flatulency which runs all over the body4 #fc4 ,even the region of vacuum is full of animal life2 and these have vacuous bodies1 moving in their particular forms4 #fd4 ,whatever animals are shut up in the infernal caves1 or skip aloft in the upper skies2 and those that remain1 and rove about all sides of the air2 these and all those which inhabit and move about the many worlds in the womb of the great vacuum1 were seen by me in the vacuity of my ,intellect4 ,,chapter ,,lxi4 ,,on ,,the ,,identity ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,with ,,infinite ,,vacuity4 ,argument3--,want of ,divine knowledge1 produces the knowledge of the reality of the unreal world2 but the knowledge of ,god1 proves the nothingness of the ,world at all times4 ,vasishtha continued3--,it is from the face of the firmament of ,divine ,intellect1 that the atmosphere of our understandings1 catch the reflexion of this universe2 just as the waters of the deep1 receive the images of the clouds in the upper sky4 ,it is this ,intellect which gives us life1 and guides our minds4 #b4 ,these living souls and minds of ours1 are of the form of the clear sky2 and these countless worlds1 are productions of empty vacuity4 #c4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 that after all kinds of beings were entirely liberated1 from the bonds of their bodies and their souls also1 at the universal annihilation of things2 what is it that comes to be created again1 and whence it gets it undone also4 #d4 ,vasishtha replied3--,hear me tell you1 how at the great destruction or deluge1 all things together with the earth1 water1 air1 fire and the sky1 and the spheres of heaven vanish away1 and are liberated from their respective forms2 and how this universe comes to appear again to our imagination4 #e4 ,there remains alone the undefinable spirit of ,god after this1 which is styled the great ,brahma and ,supreme ,intellect by the sages2 and this world remains in the heart of that being1 from which it altogether inseparable and indifferent4 #f4 ,he is the ,lord1 and all this is contained in the nature of this heart1 which passeth under the name of the world1 it is by his pleasure that he exhibits to us the notion that we have of the world1 which is not his real form4 #g4 ,considering this well1 we find nothing either as created or destroyed by him2 but as we know the supreme cause of all to be imperishable by his nature1 so do we know his heart to be indestructible also2 and the great kalpa ages are only parts of ,himself 7as the divisions of time are only parts of eternity74 #h4 ,it is only our circumscribed knowledge1 that shows us the differences and dualities of things2 but these upon examination are not to be found and vanish into nothing4 #i4 ,therefore there is nothing of anything1 that is ever destroyed to nothing1 nor is there anything which is ever produced from ,brahma2 who is unborn and invisible1 and rests always in his tranquility4 #aj4 ,he remains as the pure essence of intellect1 in atoms of a thousand part of the particles of simple vacuity4 #aa4 ,this world is verily the body of that great ,intellect1 how then can this mundane body 7corpus mundi7 come to be destroyed1 without destruction of the other also 7which is indestructible of its nature78 #ab4 ,as the intellect awakes in our hearts1 even in our sleep and dream2 so the world is present in our minds at all times1 and presents unto us its airy or ideal form ever since its first creation4 #ac4 ,the creation is a component part of the vacuous intellect and its rising and setting being but the airy and ideal operations of the intellect1 there is no part of it that is ever created or destroyed of it at any time4 #ad4 ,this spiritual substance of the intellect1 is never susceptible of being burnt or broken or torn at anytime2 it is not soiled or dried or weakened at all nor is it knowable or capable to be seen by them that are ignorant of it4 #ae4 ,it becomes1 whatever it has in its heart2 and as it never perishes1 so the notion of the world and all things which inhere in its heart 7mind71 is neither begotten nor destroyed in any wise4 #af4 ,it subsides and revives only1 by cause of its forgetfulness and remembrance only at different times1 and rising and setting of the notion1 gives rise to the ideas of the creation and destruction of the world4 #ag4 ,whatever notion you have of the world1 you become the same yourself2 think it perishable1 and you perish also with it2 but know it as imperishable1 and you become unperishing also4 #ah4 ,know then the creation and great destruction of the world1 to be but recurrences of its notion and oblivion1 and the two phases of the intellect only4 #ai4 ,how can the production or destruction of anything1 take place in the vacuity of the airy intellect2 and how can any condition or change be attributed to the formless intellect at all8 #bj4 ,the great kalpa ages and all periods of time1 and parts of creation1 are mere attributes of the intellect and the intellect but a predicate of ,brahma1 they all merge into the great ,brahma alone4 #ba4 ,the intellect is a formless and purely transparent substance1 and the phenomenals are subject to its will alone2 and it is according to the will or wish that one has in his heart 7or mind71 that he sees the object appear before him1 like the fairy lands of imagination4 #bb4 ,as the body of a tree is composed of its several parts1 of the roots1 trunk1 branches1 leaves1 flowers1 fruits and other things4 #bc4 ,so the solid substance of the divine spirit1 which is more translucent than the clear firmament1 and which nothing can be predicated in reality1 has the creation and great destructions c4 as the several conditions of its own essence4 #bd4 ,so the various states of pleasure and pain1 of happiness and misery1 of birth1 life and death1 and of form and want of form1 are but the different states of the same spirit4 #be4 ,and as the whole body of this spirit1 is imperishable and unchangeable in its nature1 so are all the states and conditions of its being also4 #bf4 ,there is no difference in the nature and essence of the whole and its part1 except that the one is more palpable to sight by its greater bulk than the other4 #bg4 ,as our consciousness1 is the root of existence of a tree2 so is our consciousness the root of our belief in the existence of ,god4 #bh4 ,this consciousness shows us the varieties of things1 as something in one place and another else where2 it shows us the creation as a great trunk1 and all the worlds as so many trees4 #bi4 ,it shows some where the great continents1 as the branches of these trees and their contents of hills c41 as their twigs and leaves2 some where it shows the sunshine as its flowers1 and darkness as the black bark of these trees4 #cj4 ,some where it shows the concavity of the sky as the hollow of the tree1 and elsewhere the dissolution of creation as a vast desolation2 it shows in one place the synod of gods as cluster of flowers1 and other beings in another as bushes and brambles and cuticles of trees4 #ca4 ,so are all these situated in the formless and vacuous consciousness1 which is the great ,brahma itself1 and no other than the same nature with ,brahma 7in its clearness and transparency74 #cb4 ,there was a past world1 here is the present one1 and in another a would be creation in futuro2 are all but notions of our minds1 and known to us by our consciousness of them1 which is as unchangeable in its nature as ,brahma himself4 #cc4 ,thus the supreme and self conscious soul of ,brahma1 being as transparent as clear firmament1 there is no colour or cloud 7or the changeful shadows of creation and destruction71 which are attributed to it 7by way of simile71 with the shades of light and darkness in the orb of the moon4 #cd4 ,how can there be the taint of anything in the transcendent1 and transparent firmament1 and can the imputation of the first1 midst and last1 and of far and near attach to infinity and eternity4 #ce4 ,want of a comprehensive and abstract knowledge1 is the cause of attributing such and other qualities to the divine nature2 and it is removed by right knowledge of the most perfect ,one4 7,these two are distinguished by the terms1 the knowledge of the pargatm and pralaytma874 #cf4 ,ignorance known as such1 by cognoscence of truth1 is removed by itself2 as a lamp is extinguished by the air which kindles the light 7i4e4 ,the knowledge of ignorance drives away ignorance74 #cg4 ,as it is certain that the knowledge of one's ignorance1 is the cause of its removal2 so the knowledge of the unlimited ,brahma1 makes him to be known as all in all4 #ch4 ,thus ,rma1 have ,i expounded to you the meaning of liberation1 consult it attentively with your conscience1 and you will undoubtedly attain to it 7in a short time74 #ci4 ,this net work of worlds1 is uncreated and without its beginning2 yet it is apparent to sight by means of the spirit of ,brahma1 manifest in that form4 ,whoso contemplates with the eye of his reason1 the eight qualities of the lord1 becomes full with the divine spirit1 although he is as mean as a straw in his living soul4 ,,chapter ,,lxii4 ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,intellect ,,with ,,the ,,intellectual ,,world4 ,argument3--,establishment of the theory of vacuum1 as ,composing the ,intellect and all existence contained in its vacuity4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 whether you were sitting in one place1 or wandering about in the skies1 when you said all these with your vacuous and intellectual body4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i was then fraught with the infinite soul1 which fills and encompasses the whole space of vacuum2 and being in this state of ubiquity1 say how could ,i have my transition from or fixed4 #c4 ,i was neither seated in any one place1 nor was ,i moving about any where2 ,i therefore was present every where1 in the empty air with my airy spirit1 and beheld everything in my self or soul4 7,this is said of the omnipresent soul74 #d4 ,as ,i see with my eyes1 all the members of my body1 as composing one body of mine from my head to foot1 so ,i saw the whole universe in myself with my intellectual eyes4 #e4 ,though my purely vacuous and intellectual soul1 is formless and without any part or member as my body2 yet the worlds formed its parts 7by their being contained in it71 and neither by the soul's diffusion in them1 nor by their being of the same nature and essence in their substance4 #f4 ,as an instance of this is your false vision of the world in your dream1 of which you retain a real conception1 though it is no other than an airy nothing or empty vacuity4 #g4 ,as a tree perceives in itself the growth of the leaves1 fruits and flowers from its body2 so ,i beheld all these rising in myself4 #h4 ,i saw all these in me1 as the profound sea views the various marine animals in its bosom1 as also the endless waves and whirlpools1 and foam and froth1 continually floating over its breast4 #i4 ,in short as all embodied beings1 are conscious of the constituent members of their own bodies2 ,i had the consciousness of all existence in my all knowing soul4 #aj4 ,rma1 ,i still retain the concepts of whatever ,i saw on land and water1 and in the hills and dales1 as they are embodied with my body2 and ,i yet behold the whole creation1 as if it were imprest in my mind4 #aa4 ,i see the worlds exposed before me1 to be lying within and without myself1 as they lay in the inside and outside of the house2 and my soul is full with all these worlds1 which are unified with my understanding4 #ab4 ,as the water knows 7retains7 its fluidity1 and the frost possesses its coldness2 and as the air has its ventilation1 so the enlightened mind knows and scans the whole world within itself4 #ac4 ,whoever has a reasoning soul in him1 and has attained a clear understanding2 is possessed of the same soul as mine1 which ,i know to be of the same kind4 #ad4 ,after the understanding is perfected1 by absence of knowledge of the subject and object1 there is nothing that appears otherwise unto him1 than the self same intelligent soul1 which abides alike in all4 #ae4 ,and as a man seated on a high hill1 sees with his clear-sightedness1 all objects to the distance of many furlongs2 so from my elevation of yoga meditation1 saw with my clair-voyance1 all things situated far and near and within and without me4 #af4 ,as the earth perceives the minerals1 metals and all things lying in its bowels2 so ,i saw everything as identical with and no other than myself4 7,annyat--non alter74 #ag4 ,rma rejoined3--,be this as it may1 but tell me1 ,o ,brahman1 what became of that bright eyed 7lit4 aureate-eyed7 dame1 that had been reciting the rya verses4 #ah4 ,vasishtha replied3--,that aerial damsel of aeriform body1 that recited in the rya metre2 advanced courteously towards me1 and sat herself beside me in the air4 #ai4 ,but she being as aeriform as myself1 could not be seen by me in her form of the spirit4 7,do not the spirits see each other874 #bj4 ,i was of the aeriform spirit1 and she also had an airlike body2 and worlds appeared as empty air1 in my airy meditation in aerial seat 7of the sky where ,i was seated74 #ba4 ,rma rejoined3--,the body is the seat of the organs of sense and action of breathing1 how then could the bodiless spirit utter the sounds of the articulate words which composed the verse8 #bb4 ,how is it possible for a bodiless spirit1 either to see a sight or think of anything 7without the eye mind74 ,explain to me these inexplicable truths1 of the facts you have related4 #bc4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the seeing of sights1 the thinking of thoughts1 and the uttering of sounds2 are all productions of empty air1 as they occur in our airy dreams 7i4e4 they are all caused by air74 7,the air being the receptacle of the light of things1 the vehicle of sound1 and framer of fancy74 #bd4 ,the sight of a thing and the thought of any thing1 depend on the aerial intellect1 as they do in our aerial dream2 and these are impressed in the hollowness of the intellect1 both in the waking as well as dreaming states4 #be4 ,not only is that sight1 but whatever is the object of any of our senses1 and the whole world itself1 is the clear and open sky 7and the idea of their substantiality1 is altogether erroneous74 #bf4 ,the transcendent first principle1 is of the form of the unknowable intellect2 which exhibits itself in the constitution of the universe1 which is verily its very nature4 7,hence called the mundane ,god or the god of nature2 or as the poet says3 ,whose body nature is1 and ,god the soul74 #bg4 ,what proof have you of the existence of the body and its senses8 ,matter is mere illusion1 and as it is with other body1 so it is with ours also4 7,the sruti says3 see the formless one under all forms c474 #bh4 ,this is as that ,one1 and that is as this4 7i4e4 ,the world appears to be as the intellect shows it c474 ,but the unreal 7matter7 is taken for the real 7spirit72 and the real is understood as an unreality4 #bi4 ,as the uses that are made of the earth1 its paths and houses in a dream1 prove to be false and made in empty air upon waking2 so the applications made of the words my1 thy1 his c41 made in our waking1 are all buried in oblivion in the state of our sound sleep 7when we have lost the consciousness of our personality74 #cj4 ,all our struggles1 efforts and actions in life time1 are as false and void as empty air2 and resemble the bustle1 commotion and fighting of men in dream1 which vanish into nothing in their waking4 #ca4 ,if you ask whence comes this phenomenon of dreaming1 and whence proceed all its different shapes and varieties8 ,to this nothing further can be said regarding its origin1 than that it is the reproduction or remembrance of the impressions 7preserved in the mind74 #cb4 ,in answer to the question1 why and how does a dream appear to us it may only be said that1 there is no other cause of its appearance to you1 than that of the appearance of this world unto you 7i4e4 as you see this before you1 so you see the other also74 #cc4 ,we have the dreaming man1 presented to us in the person of ,virt from the very beginning of creation2 and this being is situated in open air with its aeriform body1 in the shape of the dreamer and dream mixed up together4 #cd4 ,the word dream that ,i have used and adduced to you1 as an instance to explain the nature of the phenomenal world2 is to be understood as it is neither a reality nor an unreality either1 but the only ,brahma himself4 #ce4 ,now ,rma1 that lovely lady who became my loving companion1 was accosted by me in the form in which ,i beheld her in my consciousness4 #cf4 ,i conversed with her ideal figure1 and in my clairvoyant state1 just as men seen in a dream1 talked with one another 7or as spirits commune and communicate with themselves74 #cg4 ,our conference together1 was of that spiritual kind1 as it was held between men in a dream2 so was our conversation as airy1 as our persons and spirits2 and so ,rma1 must you know the whole worldly affair1 is but an airy and fairy play4 #ch4 ,so the world is a dream1 and the dream a phantasm of air2 they are the same void with but different names2 the phantom of the waking day time1 being called the world1 and of sleeping night time a dream4 #ci4 ,this scene of the world1 is the dream of the soul2 or it is the empty air or nothing2 it is the clear understanding of ,god or his own essence that is so displayed4 #dj4 ,the nightly dream needs a dreamer1 and a living person also in order to see the same1 such as ,i1 thou1 he or any body else2 but not so the day dream of the world1 which is displayed in the vacuity of the clear intellect itself4 #da4 ,as the viewer of the world is the clear vacuum of the intellect1 so its view also is as clear as its viewer2 the world being of the manner of a dream1 it is as subtile as the rare atmosphere4 #db4 ,when the empty dream of the world appears of itself1 in the vacuous and formless intellect within the hollow of the mind 7or heart7 and has no substantiality in it2 how then is it said to be a material substance1 when it is perceived in the same manner by the immaterial intellect8 #dc4 ,when the visionary world1 appearing in a dream of corporeal beings as ourselves1 proves to be but empty void and vacuity2 how do you take it for a material substance1 when it is contained in its immaterial form1 in the incorporeal spirit and intellect of ,god1 and why not call it an empty air1 when it resides in the manner of a dream in the ,divine ,intellect8 #dd4 ,the ,lord sees this uncreated world1 appearing before him as in a dream4 #de4 ,the ,lord ,brahm 7in the form of the ,hiranya-,garbha71 has framed this creation in air1 with the soft clay of his vacuous intellect2 and all these bodies with numerous cavities in them1 appear as created and uncreated in the same time4 #df4 ,there is no causality1 nor the created worlds nor their occupants2 know there is nothing and nothing at all1 and knowing this likewise and as mute as stone2 and go on doing your duties to the last1 and care not whether your body may last long or be lost to you4 ,,chapter ,,lxiii4 ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,universe ,,with ,,the ,,universal ,,soul4 ,argument3--,the multifarious worlds of ignorant people1 are viewed as one with the ,supreme ,spirit by the ,wise4 ,rma rejoined3--,o sage1 how could you hold your conference with the incorporeal maid1 and how could she utter the letters of the alphabet1 without her organs of speech8 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the incorporeal or vacuous bodies1 have of course no power or capability of pronouncing the articulate letters of the alphabet2 just as dead bodies incapable of speech4 #c4 ,and should there even be an articulate sound1 yet there can be no intelligible sense in it2 and must be unintelligible to others2 just as a dream though perceived by the dreamer1 is unknown to the sleepers in the same bed and side by side4 #d4 ,therefore1 there is nothing real in a dream2 it is really an unreality and the ideal imagery of the ,intellect in empty air1 and concomitant with sleep of its own nature4 7i4e4 ,sleep and dream are twins by their nature74 #e4 ,the clear sky of the intellect1 is darkened by its imageries 7ideas71 like the disk of the moon by its blackness1 and as the body 7face7 of the sky by its clouds2 but these are as false as the song of a stone1 and the sound of a dead body4 #f4 ,the dreams and images 7ideas71 which appear in the sphere of the intellect1 are no other than appearances of itself2 as the visible sky is nothing else1 than the invisible vacuum itself4 #g4 ,like the appearance of dreams in a sleep1 doth this world appear before us in our waking state2 so the invisible vacuum appears as the visible 7sky to our eye74 ,so the form of the dame was a shape of the intellect 7i4e4 that is a creature of imagination only4 ,gloss74 #h4 ,it is the very clever intellect in us1 which exhibits all these varieties of exquisite shapes in itself2 and shows this world to be as real and permanent as itself 7though in truth1 they are as unreal and fleeting dreams74 #i4 ,rma rejoined3--,sir1 if these be but dreams1 how is it they appear to us in our waking state2 and if they are unreal1 why is it that they seem as solid realities unto us8 #aj4 ,vasishtha replied3--,hear how the visionary dreams1 appear as substantial worlds2 though they are no other than dreams1 and never real1 and in no way solid or substantial4 #aa4 ,the seeds of our notions are playing at random as dust1 in the spacious sky of the intellect2 some of them are of the same kind and others dissimilar to one another1 and productive of like and unlike results4 #ab4 ,some of these are contained one under the other1 like the cuticles of plantain trees2 and there are many others that have no connection with another1 and are quite insensible and unknown to others4 #ac4 ,they do not see each other1 nor know anything of one another2 but as inert seeds they moulder and moisten in the same heap4 7,it means the ideas that haunt us in our sleep and waking74 #ad4 ,these notions being as void and blank as vacuum1 are not as shadows in the visible sky2 nor are they known to one another1 and though they are of sensible shapes1 yet they are as ignorant of themselves1 as it were under the influence of sleep4 #ae4 ,those that sleep in their ignorance1 find the world appearing to them in the shape of a dream1 by the daytime and act according as they think themselves to be4 ,so the ,asura demigods being situated in their dreaming 7or visionary world71 think themselves to be fighting with and worsted by the ,gods4 #af4 ,they could not be liberated owing to their ignorance nor were they reduced to the insensibility of stones2 but remained dull and inactive in the visionary world of their dream4 #ag4 ,men laid up in the sleep of their ignorance1 and seeing the dream of the world before them2 act according to their custom1 and observe how one man is killed by another 7i4e4 the mutual enmity of mankind74 #ah4 ,there are other intelligent spirits1 which being fast bound to their desires1 are never awakened nor liberated from their ignorance2 but continue to dwell on the visionary world1 which they see in their day dream4 #ai4 ,the ,rkshasas also1 that lie asleep in the visionary world of their dream1 are placed in the same state as they were used to be by the gods 7i4e4 the unemancipated souls of all beings1 dream of their former state74 #bj4 ,say then1 ,o ,rma1 what became of those ,rkshasas1 who were thus slain by ,gods2 they could neither obtain their liberation owing to their ignorance1 nor could they be transformed to stones with their intelligent souls4 #ba4 ,thus this earth with its seas and mountains and peoples1 that are seen to be situated in it2 are thought to be as substantial as we think of ourselves by our prior notions of them4 7,this is the doctrine of ,plato's reminiscence1 that the sight of the present existence1 is but a representation of our remembrance of the past74 #bb4 ,our imagination of the existence of the world1 is as that of other beings regarding it2 and they think of our existence in this world in the same light1 as we think of theirs4 #bc4 ,to them our waking state appears as a dream1 and they think us to be dreaming men1 as we also think them to be2 and as those worlds are viewed as visionary by us1 so is this of ours but one of them also4 #bd4 ,as other people have the notion of their existence from their reminiscence alone1 so have we of ourselves and theirs also1 from the ubiquious nature or omnipresence of the intellectual soul4 #be4 ,as those dreaming men think of their reality1 so do others think of themselves likewise2 and so art thou as real as any one of them4 #bf4 ,as thou beholdest the cities and citizens to be situated in thy dream1 so do they continue to remain there in the same manner to this day2 because ,god is omnipresent everywhere and at all times4 #bg4 ,it is by your waking from the sleep of ignorance1 and coming to the light of reason2 that these objects of your dream will be shorn of their substantiality1 and appear in their spiritual light as manifestation of ,god himself4 #bh4 ,he is all and in all1 and every where at all times2 so as ,he is nothing and nowhere1 nor is ,he the sky nor is ever anything that destroyed4 7,or produced74 #bi4 ,he abides in the endless sky1 and is eternal without beginning and end2 ,he abides in the endless worlds1 and in the infinity of souls and minds4 #cj4 ,he lives throughout the air and in every part of it1 and in all orbs and systems of worlds2 ,he resides in the bosom of every body1 in every island and mountain and hill4 #ca4 ,he extends all over the extent of districts1 cities and villages2 ,he dwells in every house1 and in every living body4 ,he extends over years and ages and all parts of time4 #cb4 ,in him live all living beings1 and those that are dead and gone1 and have not obtained their liberation2 and all the detached worlds are attached to him to no end and for ever4 #cc4 ,each world has its people1 and all peoples have their minds4 ,again each mind has a world in it1 and every world has its people also4 #cd4 ,thus the visibles having neither beginning nor end1 are all but erroneous conceptions of the mind2 they are no other than ,brahma to the knower of ,god1 who sees no reality in aught besides4 #ce4 ,there is but one only intellect1 which pervades this earth below and the heaven above2 which extends over the land and water1 and lies in woods and stones1 and fills the whole and endless universe4 ,thus wherever there is anything1 in any part of this boundless world2 they all inspire the idea of the divinity in the divine1 while they are looked upon as sensible objects by the ungodly4 ,,chapter ,,lxiv4 ,,sport ,,of ,,the ,,heavenly ,,nymphs4 ,argument3--,full account of the nymph1 since her birth to her ,beatification4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the graceful nymph with lotus like eyes1 and her side long glances darting as a string of mlati flowers1 was then gently looked upon by me1 and accosted with tenderness4 #b4 ,who art thou sweet nymph1 ,i said1 that art as fair as the farina of the lotus floret1 and comest to my company2 say1 whose and what thou art1 where is thy abode and wither thou goest1 and what thou desirest of me4 #c4 ,the nymph replied3--,it is meet1 ,o muni1 that you greet me thus2 that repair to you with a grieving heart1 and will lay my case confidently before you for your kind advice to me4 #d4 ,there is in a corner of the cell of the great vault of vacuity1 that this worldly dwelling of yours is situated4 #e4 ,this dwelling house of the world has three apartments in it1 namely the earth1 heaven1 and the infernal regions2 wherein the great architect 7,brahm7 hath placed a dame by name of fancy1 as a mistress of this dwelling4 #f4 ,here is the sombre surface of the earth1 appearing as the store-house of the world2 and beset with numerous islands surrounded by oceans and seas4 7,the earth is said to be the mother and supporter of all worlds74 #g4 ,the earth stretches on all sides1 with many islands in the midst of its seas and with many a mine of gold underneath1 and extending to ten thousand yojans in its length4 #h4 ,it is bright and visible itself1 and is as fair as the vault of heaven2 it supplies us with all the objects of our desire1 and vies with the starry heaven by the lustre of its gems4 #i4 ,it is the pleasure and promenading ground of gods1 siddha spirits and apsara nymphs2 it abounds with all objects of desire1 and fraught with all things of our enjoyment4 #aj4 ,it has at its two ends the two polar mountains1 called the lokloka ranges 7for having one side of them always brightened by the sunlight1 and the other ever darkened by the sunly night74 ,the two polar circles resembling the two belts at both extremities of the earth4 #aa4 ,one side of the polar mountains1 is ever covered by darkness1 like the minds of ignorant people2 and the other side shines with eternal light1 like the enlightened souls of the wise4 #ab4 ,one side of these is as delightsome1 as society with the good and wise2 while the opposite side is as dark and dolesome1 as company with the ignorant and vile4 #ac4 ,on one side all things were as clear as the minds of intelligent men1 and on the other1 there was as impervious a gloom as it hangs over the minds of unlettered ,brhmanas4 #ad4 ,on one part there was neither the sunshine nor the moon light to be had2 and as one side presented the habitable world before it1 so the other showed the vast void and waste beyond the limits of nature4 #ae4 ,one side of these teemed with the cities of gods1 and the other with those of demons2 and as the one side lifted its lofty summits on high1 so the other bent below towards the infernal regions4 #af4 ,some where the vultures were hovering over the craters and at others the lands appeared charming to sight2 while the mountain peaks appeared to touch the celestial city of ,brahm on high4 7,the city of ,brahma loka1 is situated in the highest heaven74 #ag4 ,some where there appears a dismal and dreary desert forest1 with loud blasts of death hovering over them2 and at others there are flower gardens and groves1 with the nymphs of heaven1 sitting and singing in them4 #ah4 ,in one part of it there is the deep infernal cave1 containing the horrible ,kumbhanda demons in it2 and in another are the beautiful nandana gardens with the hermitages of holy saints in them4 #ai4 ,on one part there overhang the eternal clouds1 roaring loudly like furious elephants1 while raining clouds are showering on the other4 ,there are deep and dark caverns on one part1 and thick forest arbours on another4 #bj4 ,the labouring woodmen are felling the trees of wood-lands1 inhabited by evil spirits on one side or the hardy woodmen are driving away the devils on one side1 by felling the woods of their haunts in the wood-lands2 while the other is full of inhabited tracts1 and men more polished in their manners1 than the celestials of heaven4 #ba4 ,some places are laid desolate by their inhabitants1 by the driving and whirling winds2 and others secure from every harm1 are flourishing in their productions 7of animals and vegetables74 #bb4 ,some where are great and desolate deserts1 dreary wastes dreadful with their howling winds2 and in some places there are purling lakes of lotuses with rows of sounding cranes gracing their borders4 #bc4 ,in some places1 is heard the gurgling of waters1 and the growlings of clouds in others2 and in others are the gay and merry ,apsaras1 turned giddy with their swinging4 #bd4 ,on one side the landscape is beset by horrible demons1 and is shunned by all other beings2 and on the other1 the happy spirits of ,siddhas1 ,vidydharas and others1 are seen to be sitting and singing by the side of cooling streams4 #be4 ,somewhere the pouring clouds1 caused the ever flowing rivers to encroach upon the lands2 and there were the light and flimsy clouds also1 flying as sheets of cloths1 and driven by gusts of winds here and there4 #bf4 ,there are the lotus bushes on one side1 with swarms of humming bees1 fluttering about their leafy faces2 and there are seen the rubicund teeth of celestial damsels1 blushing with the tincture of betel leaves on the other4 #bg4 ,in one place is seen the pleasant concourse of people1 pursuing their several callings under the shining sun2 and in another the assemblage of hideous demons1 dancing in their demoniac revelry in the darkness of night4 #bh4 ,somewhere the land is laid waste of its people1 by havocs and portents befalling on them2 and else where the country is smiling with its rising cities1 under blessing of a good government4 #bi4 ,sometimes a dreary waste distracts1 and at others a beautiful population attracts the sight2 sometimes deep and dark caverns occur to view1 and at others the dreadful abyss appears to sight4 #cj4 ,some spot is full of fruitful trees and luxuriant verdure1 and another a dreary desert devoid of waters and living beings2 some where you see bodies of big elephants1 and at others groups of great and greedy lions4 #ca4 ,some places are devoid of animals1 and others peopled by ferocious ,rkshasas2 some places are filled with the thorny karanja thickets1 and others are full of lofty palma forests4 #cb4 ,somewhere are lakes as large and clear as the expanse of heaven1 and at others there are vast barren deserts as void as the empty air4 ,somewhere there are tracts of continually driving sands1 and there are goodly groves of trees at others1 flourishing in all the seasons of the year4 #cc4 ,this mountain has many a peak on its top1 as high as ordinary hills and mounts elsewhere2 and the kalpa clouds are perpetually settled upon them1 blazing with the radiance of gems by the hues of heaven4 #cd4 ,there are forests growing on the milk white and sunny stones of this mountain1 and serving as abodes of foresters2 and always resorted to by the breed of lions and monkeys4 #ce4 ,there is a peak on the north of this mountain1 with a grotto towards the east of it2 and this cavern affords me a sequestered habitation1 in its hard and stony bosom4 #cf4 ,there ,i am confined1 ,o sage1 in that stony prison-house2 and there methinks ,i have passed a series of yuga ages 7of which there is no reckoning74 #cg4 ,not ,i alone1 but my husband also is confined in the same cave with myself2 and we are doomed to remain imprisoned therein1 like bees closed up at night fall1 within the cup of a closing lotus-flower4 #ch4 ,thus have ,i with my husband1 continued to abide in the stony dungeon1 for the very long period of very many years4 #ci4 ,it is owing to our own fault1 that we do not obtain our release even at the present time2 but continue to remain there in the state of prisoners as ever and for ever4 #dj4 ,but sir1 it is not only ourselves that are confined in this stony prison-house2 but all our family1 friends and dependants1 are enthralled in the same stronghold and to no end4 #da4 ,the ancient personage 7purusha7 of my twice-born husband1 is there confined in his dungeon 7of the body72 and though he has remained there for many an age1 yet he has never removed from his single seat4 #db4 ,he is employed in his studentship and studies 7,brahmacharya71 since his boyhood1 attends to the hearing and reciting of the vedas2 and is steadfast in his observances without swerving or deviation4 #dc4 ,but ,i am not so1 ,o sage1 but doomed to perpetual distress2 because ,i am unable1 ,o sage1 to pass a moment without his company4 #dd4 ,hear now1 ,o sage1 how ,i became his wife1 and how there grew an unfeigned affection between us4 #de4 ,when that husband of mine had been still a boy1 and acquired a little knowledge by remaining in his own house4 #df4 ,he thought in himself1 saying1 8,ah1 ,i am a srotriya or vedic ,brhmana1 and can it be possible for me to have a suitable partner for myself40 #dg4 ,he then produced me out of himself1 in this beauteous figure of mine2 in the manner that the lightsome moon causes the moonlight to issue out of his body4 7,in ,sanskrit the moon is masculine1 and the moonlight feminine2 whence they are called nishpati and jyotsna74 7,so in ,arabic qmar the moon is masculine1 and shams the sun is feminine74 #dh4 ,being thus produced from the mind 7of my husband71 ,i remained as a mental consort of his2 and grew up in time as the blossoms in spring1 and as beautiful as the mandara plant in bloom4 #di4 ,my body became as bright1 as the face of the sky by its nature2 and all my features glittered like the stars in heaven4 ,my countenance was as fair as the face of the full moon1 and became attractive of all heart towards it4 #ej4 ,my breasts were swollen as the buds of flower1 and as luscious as a juicy fruit2 and my arms and the palms of my hands1 resembled two tender creepers with their rubicund leaflets4 #ea4 ,i became the delight and captor of the hearts of living beings1 and the side long glances of my all stretched antelope eyes1 infatuated all minds with the maddening passion of love4 #eb4 ,i was prone to the blandishments and dalliance of love1 and prompt in quips and cranks and wreathed smiles1 and glancings2 ,i was fond of singing and music1 and was insatiate in my joviality4 #ec4 ,i was addicted to the enjoyment of all felicity1 both in prosperity and adversity1 both of which are alike friendly to me4 ,i was never tempted by the delusive temptations of the one1 nor ever frightened by the threatening persecution of the other4 #ed4 ,i do not sustain the household of my ,brahmanical lord alone1 but ,i support1 ,o sir1 the mansions of the inhabitants of all the three worlds2 because by my being a mental being1 ,i have my access to all places far and near4 #ee4 ,i am the legal wife of the ,brhmanas1 and fit for the propagation and supportance of his offspring2 as also for bearing the burden of this house of the triple4 7,does it mean that this is capable of comprehending all what is contained in the three worlds874 #ef4 ,i am now grown a young woman1 with my swollen up big breasts2 and am as giddy paced with my youthful gaiety1 as a cluster of flowers flouncing in the air4 #eg4 ,my husband from his natural disposition of procrastination and studiousness1 is employed in his austerities2 and being in expectation of getting his liberation1 is deferring to engage in his marriage with me to this day4 #eh4 ,but ,i being advanced in my youth1 and fond of youthful dalliance 7have given him my mind72 and do now burn in the flame of my passion for him1 like the lotus flower in a fiery furnace4 #ei4 ,though ,i am always cooling myself1 with the cooling breeze of brooks and lotus lakes2 yet ,i burn incessantly in all my body1 as the sacrificial embers are reduced to ashes in the sacred fire place4 #fj4 ,i see the garden grounds covered 7smiling71 with the flowers falling in showers from the shady trees2 but ,i burn as the land under the burning sands1 of the unshaded and burning desert4 #fa4 ,the soft gurgling of waters1 and the gentle breeze of lakes1 full with blooming lotuses and lilies2 and the sweet sounds of cranes and water fowls1 are all rough and harsh to me4 #fb4 ,though decked with flowery wreaths and garlands1 and swinging upon my cradle of flowers2 yet methinks ,i am lying down upon a bed of thorns4 #fc4 ,sleeping on beds1 formed of the soft leaves of lotuses and plantain-leaves2 ,i find them dried under the heat of my body1 and powdered to ashes by the pressure of my person4 #fd4 ,whatever fair1 lovely1 charming and sweet and pleasant things1 ,i come to see and feel1 ,i am filled with sorrow at their sight1 and my eyes are suffused in tears4 #fe4 ,my eyes steam with tears1 from the heat of my inward bosom2 and they trickle upon and fall down my eyelids1 like dew drops on lotus leaves4 #ff4 ,swinging with my playmates1 on the pendant boughs of plantain trees1 in our pleasure gardens2 ,i think of the burning grief in my heart1 and burst out in tears1 by covering my face with my hands 7for fear of being detected in my love74 #fg4 ,i look at our bowers of cooling plantain leaves1 and strewn over with snows all over the ground2 but fearing them as bushes of thorny brambles1 ,i fly from them far away4 #fh4 ,i see the blooming lotus of the lake1 and the fond crane fondling with its stalk like arm1 and then begin to contemn my youthful bloom4 #fi4 ,i weep at seeing whatever is handsome1 and keep quiet at what is moderate2 ,i delight in whatsoever beseems to be ugly1 and ,i am happy in my utter insensibility of every thing4 #gj4 ,i have seen the fair flowers of spring1 and the hoary-frost of winter2 and thought them all to be but heaps of the ashes of lovelorn dames1 burnt down by the flame of love1 and scattered by the relentless winds on all sides4 #ga4 ,i have made me beds of the blue leaves of lotuses and other plants1 and covered me with chaplets of snow white flowers2 but found them to turn pale and dry by their contact with my body4 ,so pity me1 that my youthful days have all gone in vain4 ,,chapter ,,lxv4 ,,life ,,and ,,conduct ,,of ,,the ,,etherial ,,nymph4 ,argument3--,how nymph has come to approach before ,vasishtha1 her statement of facts of her life4 ,after the lapse of a long time1 ,i found my passions subsiding1 and ,i grew as callous to my susceptibilites1 as the tender greens become juiceless and dry after the autumn is over4 #b4 ,seeing my husband grown old1 and shorn of all his susceptivity and vivaciousness2 and sitting quietly in his steadfast devotion with an unwavering mind1 ,i thought my life to be useless to me4 #c4 ,and methought that early widowhood1 and even premature death1 or rather a lingering disease or lasting misery1 are preferable to a female's living without a loving husband4 #d4 ,it is the boon of life1 and the greatest good fortune of a woman1 to have a young and loving husband1 who is of good and pleasant humour1 and pliant in his manners4 #e4 ,a woman is given for lost1 who has not a sweet and lovely spouse2 as the understanding is lost which is not fraught with learning4 ,in vain is prosperity when she favours the wicked1 and in vain is a woman that is lost to shame4 7,because modesty is the best quality of women74 #f4 ,she is the best of women1 who is obedient to her husband2 and that is the best fortune1 which falls in the hands of the virtuous and good4 ,that understanding is praised which is clear and capacious2 and that goodness is good1 which has a fellow feeling and equal regard for all mankind4 #g4 ,neither disease nor calamity1 nor dangers nor difficulties1 can disturb the minds1 or afflict the hearts of a loving pair1 7bound together by mutual affection74 #h4 ,the prospect of the blossoming garden of ,eden1 and the flowery paths of paradise1 appear as desert lands to women1 that have no husbands1 or such as wicked and unmannerly in their behaviour4 #i4 ,a woman may forsake all her worldly possessions1 as of little value to her2 but she can never forsake her husband1 even for any fault on his part4 #aj4 ,you see1 ,o chief of sages1 all these miseries to which ,i am subjected these very many years of my puberty4 #aa4 ,but all this fondness of mine1 is gradually turning to indifference2 and ,i am pining and fading away as fast1 as the frost beaten lotus flower1 is shrunken and shrivelled for want of its sap and juice4 #ab4 ,being now indifferent to the pleasure of my enjoyment of all things1 ,i come to seek the felicity of my nirvna-extinction2 and stand in need of your advice for my salvation4 #ac4 ,otherwise it is better for them to die away than live in this world1 who are unsuccessful in desires and ever restless and perplexed in their minds2 and such as are buffeting and borne by the waves of deadly troubles4 #ad4 ,he my husband being desirous of obtaining his nirvna liberation1 is now intent both by day and night upon the subduing of his mind by the light of his reason1 as a prince is roused to conquer his foe in company with his princess4 #ae4 ,now sir1 please to dispel both his as well as mine ignorance1 by your reasonable advice1 which may revive our remembrance of the soul 7which may destroy our faith in the body74 #af4 ,because my lord sitting solely upon the meditation of the soul1 without the company or any thought about me2 has created in me an indifference and distaste to all worldly things in toto4 #ag4 ,i am now set free from the influence of worldly desires1 and have girt myself fast with the amulet of aeronautic expedition1 for journeying through the regions of air4 7,this amulet is called the khechari mudra74 #ah4 ,i have acquired the power of locomotion amidst the air1 by means of this amulet of mine2 and it is by virtue of this power1 that ,i am enabled to associate with the siddha spirits1 and to converse with you4 #ai4 ,having girt myself with this charm1 ,i have acquired such potency1 that though remaining in my dwelling house on earth1 which is the basis and centre of all the worlds1 ,i can see all its past and future events 7by means of my intuition and yoga meditation74 #bj4 ,having then beheld within my mind1 all and everything relating to this world2 ,i have come out to survey the outward world1 and seen as far as the gigantic polar mountain 7which has perpetual light and darkness on either side of it74 #ba4 ,before this1 ,o sage1 neither ,i nor my husband1 had ever any desire of seeing anything beyond our own habitation4 7i4e4 ,or the internal world contained within the world74 #bb4 ,my husband being solely employed in meditating on the meanings 7doctrines7 of the vedas2 has no desire whatever1 to know anything relating the past or unpassed 7i4e4 the present and future7 time4 #bc4 ,it is for this reason 7of unacquaintance with the world71 that my lord has not been able to succeed to any station in life2 and it is today only1 that both of us are desirous to be blest with the best state of humanity 7the knowledge of the ,deity74 #bd4 ,we therefore beseech you1 ,o venerable sir1 to grant our request1 as it is never in the nature of noble persons to refuse the prayer of their suppliants4 #be4 ,i who have been wandering in the etherial regions1 among hosts of the perfected spirits of siddhas2 do not find any one except yourself1 ,o honourable sir1 who may put fire to the thick gloom of ignorance as a conflagration4 #bf4 ,and as it is the nature of good people to do good to others1 even without the knowledge of any cause of pity in their suppliants2 so should you1 ,o venerable sir1 do to your suppliant one without refusing her suit4 ,,chapter ,,lxvi4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,inside ,,of ,,the ,,stony ,,mansion ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,the nymph's ,relation of the manner of her habitation in the womb of the solid stone4 ,vasishtha said3--,i then seated as ,i was1 in my imaginary seat in the sky1 asked the lady who was also sitting like myself in the visionary air3 saying3-- #b4 ,tell me1 ,o gentle lady1 how could an embodied being as yourself1 abide in the inside of a block of stone2 how could you move about within that imporous substance1 and what was the cause of your abode therein4 #c4 ,the ,nymph replied3--,wonder not1 ,o sage1 at this kind of our habitation1 which is as habitable to us1 and inhabited by other creatures1 as the open and spacious world which you inhabit4 #d4 ,there are the snakes and reptiles1 living in and moving about the bowels of the earth2 and there are huge rocks deeply rooted in the subterranean cell2 the waters are running within the bosom of the ground1 with as much freedom as the winds are flying all about the open air4 #e4 ,the oceans are flowing with the fulness of their waters1 and the finny tribe moving slowly beneath and above their surface2 and there are infinite numbers of living creatures1 that are incessantly born and dying away in them4 #f4 ,it is in the cavity of the mundane stone1 that the waters are gliding below1 as the winds are flying above2 here the celestials are moving and roving in the air1 and the earth and the planetary bodies1 revolving with their unmoving mountains and other immovables4 #g4 ,there are also the gods1 demigods and human beings1 moving in their respective circles1 within the womb of this stone2 and it is from the beginning of creation1 that the waters of rivers are running as those of the oceans4 #h4 ,again it is from the beginning of creation1 that the sun has been darting his beams from above2 and strewing them like lotuses on the lake like land1 while the dark clouds of heaven are hovering over them like a swarm of black bees1 fluttering upon those blooming blossoms4 #i4 ,the moon spreads her light like sandal paste on all sides1 and effaces thereby the darkness1 which overspreads the bosom of night1 and covers the face of the evening star4 #aj4 ,the sun light is the lamp of his light in heavenly mansion1 and scatters its rays on all the ten sides of the skies1 by means of their conductor of air4 7,it is believed that the circumambient air is the medium1 through which the pencils of solar light pass in all directions74 #aa4 ,the wheel of the starry frame1 is continually revolving in the air by the will of ,god1 like a threshing mill turning about its central axle by means of a string4 #ab4 ,this rotatory circle of celestial bodies1 about its axis of the pole1 kills all things under its two valves of heaven and earth1 as the wheel of fate grinds them to dust4 7,so says ,kabir the saint of ,julpa caste3 8,every one is ground to dust1 under the two disks of earth and sky1 as under the jaws of death074 #ac4 ,the surface of the earth is full of hills and mountains1 and the bosom of the sea is filled by rocks and islands2 the upper sky contains the celestial abodes1 and the demons occupy the lower regions below the ground4 #ad4 ,the orbit of this earth1 resembles the ear-ring of the goddess of the three worlds2 and the verdant orb of this planet1 is as the pendant gem of the ringlet1 continually with the fluctuations of its people4 #ae4 ,here all creatures are impelled by their desires to their mental and bodily activities1 as if moved to and fro by the flying winds1 and are thus led to repeated births and deaths 7from which they have no respite74 #af4 ,the silent sage sits in his sedate meditation1 as the sky is unmoved with its capacity of containing all things within itself2 but the earth is shaken and wasted by the dashing waves1 and the fire is put down by its blazing flame1 and every thing is moved about as monkey by the wind of its desires4 #ag4 ,all the living beings abounding in the earth and water1 and those flying in the air1 as well as such as live in the hills and on trees2 together with the gods and giants1 are alike doomed to death and regeneration1 as the ephemeral insects1 worms and flies4 #ah4 ,time--the greatest slaughterer1 destroys the gods1 giants1 gandharvas and all1 with its many arms of ages and yugas1 and of years1 months1 days and nights1 as a herdsman kills his cattle1 which he has reared up himself4 7,time feeds upon what it has fed himself74 #ai4 ,all these rise and fall in the eventful ocean of time1 and having leapt and jumped and danced awhile1 sink in the abyss of the fathomless whirl of death1 from which none can rise again4 #bj4 ,all sorts of beings living in the fourteen spheres of the world1 are carried away as dust and ashes by the gust of death1 to the hollow womb of air1 where they disappear as empty clouds in the autumnal sky4 #ba4 ,the high heaven which is ever clad in the clean and clear attire of the atmosphere1 and wears the frame work of the stars as a cap or crown on its head1 holds the two lights of the sun and moon in its either hand1 and shows us the works of gods in the skies4 7,heaven is the book of ,god1 before thee set c4 ,milton74 #bb4 ,it remains unmoved for ever1 and never changes its sides composed of the four quarters of heaven1 notwithstanding vicissitudes of the sky1 the rushing of the winds1 the tremor of the earth1 the roaring of the clouds and the intense heat of the sun 7,all which it bears as patiently as the fixed trees and stones on earth74 #bc4 ,and all things continue in their destined course1 whether they that are conscious or those which are unconscious of these changes in nature2 such are the appearance of meteors and portents in the sky1 the roaring of clouds1 the eclipses of the planets1 and the trembling of the earth below4 #bd4 ,the submarine fire sucks up the over flowing waters1 of the seven great basins or oceans on earth2 in the same manner as the all-destroying time1 devours the creatures in all the different worlds4 #be4 ,all things are continually going on in their course1 in the manner of the continued motion of the 7sadgati7 of the current air3 ,namely2 all earth born worms moving on and returning into the bowels of the earth2 the birds of the air are moving in and flying on all sides of the sky2 the fishes are swimming and skimming all about the waters1 the beasts returning to their caverns in earth and the hills1 and such is the case with the inhabitants of all the continents and islands lying in the womb of this world4 ,,chapter ,,lxvii4 ,,praise ,,of ,,continued ,,practice ,,or ,,the ,,force ,,of ,,habit4 ,argument3--,the sage's visit to the stony-mansion and the nymph's relations of the force of habit4 ,the ,nymph continued3--,if you1 ,o sage1 have any doubt in any part of my narration2 then please to walk with me and see that mansion1 and you will observe there many more wonders than what ,i have related4 #b4 ,vasishtha said3--,upon this ,i said 8well0 and went on travelling with her in our aerial journey2 as the fragrance of flowers flies with the winds1 to aerial nothing in which they are both lost for ever4 #c4 ,as ,i passed far and afar1 in the regions of air2 ,i met with multitudes of etherial beings1 and came to the sight of their celestial abodes4 #d4 ,passing over the regions traversed by the celestials1 in the upper and higher sphere of heaven2 ,i arrived at blank and blanched sky1 beyond the height and above the summit of the polar mountain4 #e4 ,i then passed amidst this etiolated vault and came out at last of it1 as the fair moon appears under the white canopy of heaven2 and beheld above me the bright belt of zodiac1 containing the seven-fold golden spheres of the seven planets4 ,note4 ,the ,hindu astronomy does not reckon the earth as one of the moving planets4 #f4 ,as ,i was looking at that belt of the zodiac1 ,i found it as a crystaline marble1 and burning with fire4 ,i could not discern any of the worlds that it encompassed 7they being all put to shade by the zodiacal light74 #g4 ,i then asked my lovely companion1 to tell me where were the created worlds1 together with the gods and planetary bodies and stars1 and the seven spheres of heaven4 #h4 ,where were the oceans and the sky1 with all its different sides 7of the compass72 where were the high and heavy bodies of clouds1 the starry heaven1 and the ascension and descension of the rolling planets4 #i4 ,where are now1 said ,i1 the rows of the lofty mountain peaks1 and the marks of the seas upon the earth2 where are the circles and clusters of the islands1 and where are the sunny shores and dry and parched grounds of deserts4 #aj4 ,there is no reckoning of time here1 nor any account of actions of men2 nor is there any delusive appearance of a created world or anything whatever1 in this endless and empty vacuum4 #aa4 ,there is no name of the different races of beings1 as the ,gods1 demigods1 ,vidydharas1 ,gandharvas and other races of mankind2 there is no mention of a sage or prince1 or of aught that is good or evil1 or of a heaven or hell1 or day and night and their divisions into watches1 hours c4 #ab4 ,there is no calculation of the divisions of time 7in this extramundane space71 nor any knowing of merit or demerit 7in this uninhabited place72 it is free from the hostility of the gods and demigods and the feelings of love and enmity 7between man and man74 #ac4 ,whilst ,i had been prating in this manner in my amazement1 that excellent lady who was my cicerone in this maze1 spake to me and said1 with her eyeballs rolling as a couple of fluttering black bees4 #ad4 ,the ,nymph said3--,i neither see any thing here1 in its former state2 but find everything presenting a picturesque form in this crystal stone1 as it does in its image appearing in a mirror4 #ae4 ,i see the figures of all things in this1 by reason of my preconceived ideas eternally engraven herein1 while the want of your preconceptions of them1 is the cause of your over sight or blindness of the same4 #af4 ,moreover it is your habitual conversation1 regarding the unity or duality of the sole entity2 and forgetfulness of our pure spiritual and intellectual bodies1 that you were blind to the sight of the reality1 and ,i had a dim glimpse of it4 #ag4 ,i have by my long habit of thinking1 learnt to look upon this world in the light of an etherial plant 7which is nothing72 ,i never view it as you do to be a reality1 but as a dim reflection of the ideal reality4 #ah4 ,the world that appeared before so conspicuous to my sight1 ,i find it now appearing as indistinct to me as a shadow of the same cast upon a glass4 #ai4 ,it is owing to our prejudice in favour of the false doctrine of old1 regarding the personality of the body2 that we have missed the ease of our reliance in the spiritual body1 and thus fallen in the deep darkness of delusion4 #bj4 ,whatever we are habituated to think in our internal minds1 the same grows forth and takes a deep root in the heart1 under the moistening influence of the intellectual soul2 and mind becomes of the nature1 as the force of early habit forms the youth4 #ba4 ,there is nothing which is likely to be effected1 either by the precepts of the best sstras1 or the dictates of right reason1 unless they are made effectual by constant application and practice of them4 7,theoretical knowledge is useless without practice74 #bb4 ,your erroneous speech regarding the nihility of the world in this empty space1 proceeded only from your constant habit of thinking the reality of the false world1 which was about to mislead me also4 ,be now wise that you have overcome your previous prejudice1 and known the present truth4 #bc4 ,know1 ,o sage1 that it is your habitual thinking of a thing as such1 that makes it appear so to you2 just as a mechanic master's art is by his constant practice of the same under the direction of its professor4 #bd4 ,the erroneous conceptions of this thing and that1 and of the existence of the material world1 and the reality of one's egoism and personality2 are all obviated by culture of spiritual knowledge1 and by force of the constant habit of viewing all things in their spiritual light4 #be4 ,i am but a weak and young disciple to thee1 and yet see the stony world too well1 which thou with thy all knowingness dost not perceive2 and this is because of my habit of thinking it otherwise than thou art practiced to do4 #bf4 ,see the effect of practice1 which makes a learned man of a dunce 7by his habitude to study72 and reduces a stone to dust 7by continued pounding74 ,look at the force of the inert arrow1 to hit at the distant mark 7by impulsion of the practiced archer74 #bg4 ,in this manner the gloom of our ignorance1 and the malady of false knowledge1 are both of them dispelled by right reasoning and deep thinking1 both of which are the effect of habit4 #bh4 ,it is habit that produces a zest1 in the tests of particular articles of food1 as some have a relish for what is sour and pungent1 while there are others that luxuriate in what is sweet and savoury4 7,tastes differ74 #bi4 ,a stranger becomes friendly1 by his continuance in one's company2 and so is a friend alienated1 by his living in an alien and distant land4 #cj4 ,our spiritual body1 which is perfectly pure1 aerial and full of intelligence1 is converted to and mistaken for the gross material body as soul1 by our constantly thinking of our corporeality4 #ca4 ,the impression of your being a material body1 will fly away as a bird flies off in the air1 no sooner you come to know yourself to be a spiritual and intellectual soul4 ,but it is the habit of thinking yourself as such1 that makes you really so4 #cb4 ,all our meritorious acts are destroyed1 by a slight act of demerit2 and our prosperity flies away at the approach of adversity2 but there is nothing which can remove our habit from us4 7,habit being our second nature74 #cc4 ,all difficult matters are facilitated by practice1 and enemies are conciliated into friendship1 and even poison is made as delectable as honey by virtue of habit4 #cd4 ,he is reckoned as too mean and vile a person1 who does not accustom himself to practice1 whatever is good and proper for him2 he never acquires his object1 but becomes as useless as a barren woman in the family4 #ce4 ,whatever is desirable and good for one1 is to be gained with assiduity all along one's life time1 just as one's life1 which is his greatest good in the world1 is to be preserved with care1 until the approach of death4 #cf4 ,whoso neglects to practice any act or art1 which is conducive to his welfare1 is prone to his ruin and to the torments of hell4 #cg4 ,they who are inclined to the meditation of the spiritual soul1 cross over easily over the billowy rivulet of this world1 although they may be attached to it in their outward and bodily practices4 7,the knowledge of the immortal soul1 is the healing balm of the turmoils of mortal life74 #ch4 ,practice is the light1 that leads one in the path of his desired object2 just as the light of the lamp shows the place1 where the lost pot or cloth lies in the room4 7,so application to the esoteric1 enlightens the mysterious truths of nature74 #ci4 ,the arbour of assuetude fructifies in its time1 as the kalpa tree yields all the fruits of our desire2 and as the hoarded capital of the rich1 is attended with great profit and interest4 #dj4 ,habitual inquiry into spiritual truth1 serves as the sunlight to enlighten the nature of the soul 7unto us72 or it lies hid in our very body as any part of it in the darkness of the sunless night4 7,the inward soul is invisible to exoteric view74 #da4 ,all animal beings are in need of certain provisions1 for the supportance of their lives2 and all these they have to obtain by their continued search1 and never without it4 ,therefore the force of habit prevails in all places as the powerful sunshine4 #db4 ,all the fourteen kinds of living beings1 have to live by the habit of their respective activities2 and it is impossible for any one to get its desired object1 without its unfeigned activity4 #dc4 ,it is the repetition of same action1 which takes the name of habit1 and which is called one's personal effort or exertion2 and it is not possible for any body to do anything without any effort4 #dd4 ,constant habit of action1 joined with bodily and mental energy1 is the only means of accomplishing anything and not otherwise4 #de4 ,there is nothing which is impossible to the power of habit1 which is as powerful as the strong sun-beams which give growth to everything on earth4 ,it is habitual energy only that gives prosperity and undauntedness to the brave1 on earth and water and mountains1 and in forests and deserts4 ,,chapter ,,lxviii4 ,,the ,,fallacy ,,of ,,the ,,existence ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,exposition of the ,erroneous conception of the ,material ,world4 ,the ,nymph continued3--,now as it is the habit of long practice1 combined with the understanding and cogitation of a subject1 that makes one proficient in it2 so these being applied to the meditation of the spiritual and pure soul1 will cause the material world to vanish in the stone 7we have been talking of74 #b4 ,vasishtha said3--,after the celestial nymph had spoken in this manner1 ,i retired to the cavern of a rock1 where ,i sat in my posture of ,padmsana 7or legs folded upon one another72 and became engaged in my samdhi-devotion 7or abstract and abstruse meditation74 #c4 ,having given up all thoughts of corporeal bodies1 and continued to think only of the intellectual soul1 according to the holy dictate of the nymph as said before4 #d4 ,i then had the sight of an intellectual void in me1 which present a clear and fair prospect before me1 resembling the clearness of the vacuous vault of heaven in autumnal season4 #e4 ,it was at last by my intense application1 to the meditation of the true ,one 7or the ,god in spirit71 that my erroneous view of the phenomenals1 entirely subsided within me 7or disappeared from my mind74 #f4 ,the intellectual sphere of my mind1 was filled by a transcendent light2 which knew no rising or setting1 but was always shining with an uniform radiance4 #g4 ,as ,i was looking into and through the light1 that shone in me1 ,i could find neither the sky nor that great stone1 which ,i sought to find4 #h4 ,i then found the clear and thick blaze of my spiritual light1 to ravish my outward sight2 as it had enrapt my inward vision4 #i4 ,as a man sees in his dream a huge stone in his house1 so ,i beheld the vast vacuum as a crystaline globe1 situate in the clear atmosphere of the intellect4 7,the stone is the mundane egg or sphere of the universe74 #aj4 ,a dreaming man1 may think himself as another person2 but after he is awakened from his sleep1 he comes to know himself4 7,so we dream ourselves as this and that1 but upon waking to reason1 we find ourselves as none of these1 but the pure spirit74 #aa4 ,those who dream themselves headless beings in their sleep1 and remain so in this world2 they can be of no good or use to themselves1 though they have a little knowledge afterwards4 #ab4 ,the man that is drowned in utter ignorance1 comes to his right understanding in course of time2 and comes to know at the end1 that there is no real entity1 except the essence of ,god4 #ac4 ,this when ,i beheld the solid and transparent light1 which appeared as crystal stone lying in the vacuity of ,brahma2 ,i could observe no material thing as the earth and water1 or aught whatever in connection with it4 #ad4 ,the pure and spiritual form1 in which all things were presented at their first creation2 they bear the same forms still1 in our ideas of them4 #ae4 ,all these bodies of created beings1 are but forms of ,brahma2 being considered in their primordial and spiritual and natural natures2 and it is the mind which gives them the imaginary shapes of materiality1 in its fabricated dominion of the visible world4 #af4 ,it is the spiritual form1 which is the true essence of all things2 and all that is visible to us or perceptible to the senses1 is mere fabrication of the originally inventive mind4 #ag4 ,the prime creation was in the abstract1 or an abstract idea of it1 and imperceptible to the senses 7because the original prototype of the world1 was co-eternal with the divine mind1 and existent with it from before the formation of the perceptive senses of beings2 but it was perceptible to the mind in the form of the noumenal1 which was converted to the concrete and phenomenal by the ignorant74 #ah4 ,the yogi like the knowing minds1 sees all things in the abstract and in a general view2 but the ignorant that are deprived of the power of abstraction and generalization1 fall into the errors of concrete particulars and deceptive sensibles4 #ai4 ,all sensation is but a temporary perception1 and presents a wrong impression in the mind2 know all sensible perceptions to be false and deluding1 but their concepts in the mind of yogi are the true realities4 7,falsity of perception and reality of noumena according to ,berkeley74 #bj4 ,o1 the wonder of taking the sensibles for the invisible verities6 when it is ascertained that the concepts1 which are beyond the senses1 are the true realities that come under our cognizance4 #ba4 ,it is the subtile form 7or idea7 of a thing1 that appears at first before the mind2 which is afterwards represented in various false shapes before us2 and this is true of all material things in the world4 7,as the general and abstract idea of heat1 which is at first imprinted in the mind1 is manifested unto us at last in the concrete and particular forms of the sun and fire and all other hot bodies74 7,this passage supports the doctrine of the eternity of general ideas innate in us1 against ,locke's denial of inborn ideas74 #bb4 ,whatever there has not been before1 has never been in being afterwards2 as the variety of the jewelery of gold1 is naught but gold itself2 so the pristine subtile ideas1 cannot have any gross material form4 7,all which is but shadow and fallacy74 #bc4 ,o1 the great ignorance of men6 that takes the error for truth1 and considers the falsehood as true2 and there is no way for the living soul to discern the true and false1 except by right reasoning4 #bd4 ,the material body cannot be maintained by correct reason1 but the immaterial essence of it is indestructible1 both in this world as also in the next4 #be4 ,the error of materiality in the incorporeal or spiritual body1 which is presided over by the intellect--chit2 is as the fallacy of a vast sea1 in the shining sands of a sandy desert4 #bf4 ,the consciousness of materiality1 which one has in his spiritual and intellectual form2 is as his supposition of a human body in the peak of a mountain1 when it is viewed by his naked eye sight4 #bg4 ,the erroneous supposition of materiality1 in the spiritual entity of our being2 is as the error of our taking the shells on the sea shore for silver1 the sunshines on sands for water1 and another moon in the mist4 #bh4 ,o the wondrous efficacy or error6 that represents the unreal as real and the vice-versa2 and ,o the great power of delusion6 which springs from the unreasonableness of living beings4 #bi4 ,the yogi finds the spiritual force and mental activity1 to be the two immaterial causes of all action and motion1 that actuate everything in both the physical and intellectual worlds4 #cj4 ,therefore the yogi relies in his internal perception only1 by rejecting those of his external senses2 while the common sort are seen to run giddy1 with drinking the vapours of the mirage of senses4 #ca4 ,that which is commonly called pleasure or pain1 is but a fleeting feeling in the mind of men1 and is of a short duration2 it is that unfeigned and lasting peace of mind1 which has neither its rise or fall1 that is called true happiness 7and is felt by yogis only74 #cb4 ,infer the hyper-sensible from the sensibles1 and see the true source of thy sensations manifest in thy presence4 7,know the ,lord as the pattern of thy perceptions74 #cc4 ,reject the sight of this triple world 7composed of the upper1 lower and midway spheres71 which thy perception presents to thy imagination2 because there can be nothing more foolish than taking a delusion for truth4 #cd4 ,all these bodies and beings bear only1 their immaterial forms of mere ideas2 and it is the goblin of delusion alone1 that causes us to suppose their materiality4 #ce4 ,whatever is not produced or thought of in the mind1 can not present its figure to our sight also2 and that which is no reality of itself1 cannot be the cause of any else4 7,nothing comes from a nullity74 #cf4 ,when the sensibles are null and unreal1 what other thing is there that may be real2 and how can anything be said as real1 whose reality is by the unreal and delusive senses4 #cg4 ,the sensibles being proved as unreal1 there can be no reality in their perceptions and thoughts also2 it is impossible for a spider to maintain its web before a storm1 which blows away an elephant4 #ch4 ,so likewise the ocular evidence being proved as false1 there is no proof of there being any object of vision any where4 ,there is but ,one invariable entity in all nature1 whose solidity depends upon the consolidation of the divine intellect1 as of the sea salt on the solidified sea water4 #ci4 ,as a dreamer dreams of a high hill in his house1 and in its ideal form1 which is unknown to and unseen to others sleeping with him in the same house2 so we thought two of that stone we have been talking of erewhile1 and which is no other than the intellect4 #dj4 ,it is this intellectual soul1 which exhibits a great many ideal phenomena within itself1 and all of which are as unsubstantial as empty air2 such as3--this is a hill1 and this is the sky2 this is the world1 and these are myself and thyself4 #da4 ,men of enlightened souls only1 can perceive these phenomena of the intellect in themselves and not the unenlightened soul2 just as the hearer of a lecture understands its purport1 and not one who dozes upon the reading of a sermon4 #db4 ,all these erroneous sights of the world1 appear to be true to the unenlightened person2 just as the unmoving trees and mountains1 seem to be dancing to inebriated man4 #dc4 ,the yogi beholds one irrepressible form of ,god 7,siva7 in all places1 and manifest before him in the form of his intellect2 but the ignorant are beguiled by their false guides1 to place their reliance in the objects of senses1 notwithstanding their frail nature4 ,,chapter ,,lxix ,,entrance ,,into ,,the ,,cosmical ,,stone ,,of ,,mundane ,,egg4 ,argument3--,creative energy of ,god is the cause of reminiscence1 and reminiscence is the cause of reproduction4 ,vasishtha added3--,the world is without any figure or substance1 though it presents the appearance of such2 it is seen in the light of the pure and imperishable essence of ,god1 by the keen sight of transcendental philosophy4 #b4 ,it is that quintessence which exhibits in itself the rare show of the cosmorama1 and the figures of hills and rivers are seen in it as pictures in a panoroma1 or as spectres appearing in the empty air4 #c4 ,the nymph then entered that cosmical block by the resistless efforts1 and ,i also penetrated in it after her1 with my curiosity 7to know the contents thereof74 #d4 ,after that indefatiguable lady had made her way into the cosmos of ,brahm1 she took her seat before a ,brhmana1 and shone supremely bright in his presence4 #e4 ,she introduced me to him and said3 ,this is my husband and supporter and with whom ,i have made my betrothal a long time in my mind4 #f4 ,he is now an old man1 and ,i too have attained my old age2 and as he has differed his marriage with me till now1 ,i have become utterly indifferent about it at present4 #g4 ,he also has grown averse to his marriage at present1 and is desirous of attaining to that supreme state1 of which there is no view nor viewer1 and which is yet no airy vacuity also4 #h4 ,the world is now approaching to its dissolution1 and he has been sitting in his meditation1 in as silent a mood as a stone and as immovable as a rock 7in his yoga hypnotism74 #i4 ,therefore do thou please1 ,o lord of saints1 to awaken both himself and me also1 and enlighten and confirm us in the way of supreme felicity1 until the end of this creation and the re-creation of a new one4 #aj4 ,having said so to me1 she waked her husband and spoke to him saying2 ,here my lord1 is the chief of saints1 that has come today to our abode4 #aa4 ,this sage is the progeny of ,brahm in another apartment of this worldly dome1 and deserves to be honoured with the honors worthy of a guest1 according to the proper rite of hospitality4 #ab4 ,arise and receive the great sage with offering of his honorarium1 and the water 7for washing his feet72 because great persons are deserving of the greatest regards and respects1 that one can offer unto them4 #ac4 ,being thus addressed by her1 the holy devotee awoke from his hypnotism1 and his consciousness rose in himself1 as a whirlpool rises above the sea4 #ad4 ,the courteous sage opened his eyes slowly1 as flowers open their petals in the vernal season after the autumn is over4 #ae4 ,his returning senses slowly displayed the power of his limbs1 as the returning moisture of plants in spring1 puts their new sprouts and branches to shoot forth anew4 #af4 ,immediately there assembled about him the gods1 and demigods1 siddhas and ,gandharvas also from all sides2 just as the assemblage of swans and cranes1 flock to the limpid lake1 blooming with the full-blown lotuses in it4 #ag4 ,he looked upon all that were standing before him1 together with myself and the fair lady 7that had brought me thither72 and then in the sweet tone of the parnava hymn1 he addressed me as the second ,brahm himself4 #ah4 ,the ,brhmana said3--,i welcome thee1 ,o sage1 to this place1 that dost view the world as in a globe placed in the palm of thy hand2 and resemblest the great ocean in the vast extents of thy knowledge4 7,lit3--the ambrosial waters of knowledge74 #ai4 ,you have come a great way1 to this far distant place2 and as you must have been tired with your long journey1 please to sit yourself in this seat4 #bj4 ,as he said these words1 ,i saluted him saying1 ,i hail thee my lord2 and then sat on the jewelled seat1 he pointed out to me4 #ba4 ,and then he was lauded by the assembled gods1 and holy spirits standing before him1 and received their pj presents and adorations1 according to the rules and rites of courtesy4 #bb4 ,then as the praises and prayers of the assembled host1 was all at an end in a moment2 the venerable brhmana was accosted and bespoken unto me in the following manner4 #bc4 ,how is it1 ,o venerable sir1 that this nymph has recourse to me1 and tells me to enlighten you both with true knowledge1 when you are acquainted whatever is past1 and all that is to take place in future4 #bd4 ,you sir1 are lord of all1 and fully acquainted with all knowledge2 what is it then that this silly woman wants to learn from me1 and this is what ,i want to learn from you4 #be4 ,why was she produced by you to become your spouse1 and was never taken to spousal by your indifference towards her4 #bf4 ,the ,brhmana replied3--,hear me saint to tell you1 how it came to be so with us2 because it is right and fit to acquaint everything in full to the wise and good4 #bg4 ,there is an unborn and imperishable entity from all eternity1 and ,i am but a spark of that ever sparkling and effulgent intellect4 #bh4 ,i am of the form of empty air or vacuum1 and situated for ever in the supreme spirit2 and am called the self-born in all the worlds1 that were to be created afterwards4 #bi4 ,but in reality ,i am never born1 nor do ,i ever see or do anything in reality2 but remain as the vacuous intellect in the intellectual vacuity of the selfsame entity4 #cj4 ,these our addresses to one another in the first and second persons 7lit4 as ,i1 thou1 mine1 thine c471 are no other than as the sounds of the waves of the same sea dashing against each other4 #ca4 ,i who was of this nature 7of a clear wave in the sea of eternity71 became disturbed in time by feeling some desire rising in me1 and seeing that maid amidst the blaze of my intellect4 #cb4 ,i thought her as myself1 though she appears as another person to you and others2 and though she is manifest before you1 yet lies as hidden in me as my veryself4 #cc4 ,and ,i find myself as that imperishable entity1 which abides in me as ,i abide in the supreme soul2 ,i find my soul to be imperishable in its nature1 and to be delighted in itself as if it were the lord of all4 #cd4 ,though ,i was thus absorbed in meditation1 yet the reminiscence of my former state 7as the creative energy of ,god or ,brahm72 produced in me the desire of reproduction1 and yonder is the incarnate divinity presiding over my will4 #ce4 ,she is the presiding divinity over my will1 that is standing here manifest before you2 she is neither my wife nor have ,i betrothed her as such4 #cf4 ,it is from the desire of her heart1 that she deems herself the spouse of ,brahm2 and it is for that reason that she has undergone troubles1 before she got rid of her desires4 ,chapter ,,lxx4 ,,the ,,words ,,of ,,the ,,creator ,,of ,,worlds ,,in ,,the ,,mundane ,,stone4 ,argument3--,relation of the desire of the ,divine of ,divinity as the cause of her sorrow4 ,the ,brhmana related3--,now as the world is approaching to its end1 and ,i am going to take my rest in the formless void of the intellect 7after dissolution of the material world72 it is for this reason that this divinity of worldly desires1 is drowned in deep sorrow4 #b4 ,and as ,i am about to forsake her forever1 it is for this very reason1 ,o sage1 that she is so very sorry and sick at her heart4 #c4 ,being myself of an aerial form1 when ,i become one with the supreme spirit 7after my leaving the mental sphere72 then there takes place the great dissolution of the world with the end of all my desire4 #d4 ,hence she with deep sorrow pursues my way1 for who is there so senseless1 that does not follow after the giver of her being4 #e4 ,now the time is come for the termination of the ,kaliyuga1 and of the rotation of the four ages2 and the dissolution of all living beings1 ,manus1 ,indras1 and the ,gods1 is near at hand4 #f4 ,today is the end of the kalpa and great kalpa age1 and this day puts an end to my energy and will1 and makes me mix with the eternal and infinite vacuity4 #g4 ,it is now that this personification of my desire1 is about to breathe her last2 just as the lake of lotuses being dried1 the breath of lotus flowers also is lost in the air4 #h4 ,the quiet soul like the calm ocean1 is always at a state of rest2 unless it is agitated by its fickle desires1 as the sea is troubled by its fluctuating waves4 #i4 ,the embodied being 7which is confined in the prisonhouse of the human body71 has naturally a desire to know the soul1 and to be freed from its dungeon4 #aj4 ,thus this lady being fraught with spiritual knowledge1 and long practiced in yoga meditation2 has seen the world you inhabit1 and the four different states of its inhabitants4 7,the gloss explains the four states to mean the four different pursuits of men expressed by ,dharma1 ,artha1 ,kma1 ,moksha74 #aa4 ,she traversing through the regions of air1 has come to the sight of the aforesaid etherial stone above the polar mountain1 which is our celestial abode and the pattern of your world4 #ab4 ,both that world of yours and this abode of ours1 rest on a great mountain1 which bears upon it many other worlds 7invisible to the naked eye74 #ac4 ,we also do not see them with our discriminating eye sight1 of discerning them separately from one another2 but we behold them all commingled in one1 in our abstract view of yoga meditation 7i4e4 ,the sight of particulars is lost in their abstract meditation74 #ad4 ,there are numberless worlds of creations1 in earth1 water and air and in everything under the sky1 as if they are compressed or carved in the body of a huge block of stone4 #ae4 ,what you call the world is a mere fallacy1 and resembles your vision of a fairy city in dream2 it is a false name applied to an object1 existing nowhere beyond the intellect 7and in the imagination of the mind74 #af4 ,they who have come to know the world1 as no other than an airy vision of the mind1 are verily called as wise men1 and not liable to fall into error4 #ag4 ,there others who by their application to and practice of yoga contemplation1 come to attain their desired object1 as this lady has succeeded to gain your company 7for her edification74 #ah4 ,thus doth the illusory power of the intellect1 display these material worlds before us2 and thus doth the everlasting ,divine omnipotence manifest itself 7in all these various forms74 #ai4 ,there is no action nor any creation1 that is ever produced from anything or ever reduced to nothing2 but all things and actions are the spontaneous growth of the intellect only2 together with our ideas of space and time4 #bj4 ,know the ideas of time and space1 of substance and action1 as well as of the minds and its faculties1 are the lasting figures and marks on the stone of the intellect1 and are ever salient in it1 without their setting or being shaded at anytime4 #ba4 ,this intellect is the very stone 7we have been talking of71 and is either at rest or rolling on as roller or wheel2 the worlds appertain to it as its appurtenances1 and accompany it as motion doth the wind4 #bb4 ,the soul being replete with its full knowledge of all things1 is considered as the solid world itself2 and though it is infinite in time and space1 yet it is thought as limited1 owing to its appearance in the form of the bounded and embodied mind4 #bc4 ,the unbounded intellect appears as bounded1 by its limited knowledge2 and although it is formless1 yet it appears in the form of the mind1 representing the worlds in it4 #bd4 ,as the mind views itself in the form of aerial city in its dream1 so doth it find itself in the form of this stone1 with the worlds marked upon it in the daytime4 7,the world like the dream1 is a transformation or representation of the mind itself74 #be4 ,there is no rolling of the orbs in this world1 nor the running of streams herein1 there is no object subsisting in reality any where2 but they are all mere representations of the mind in empty air4 #bf4 ,as there are no kolpa and great kalpa ages in eternity1 nor the substantiality of anything in the vacuity of our consciousness2 and as there is no difference of the waves and bubbles from the waters of the sea 7,so there is no difference of the empty thoughts from the vacuous mind2 whence they take their rise74 #bg4 ,the worlds appearing to be in esse1 or existent in the mind and before the eyes2 are in reality utterly inexistent in the intellect1 which spreads alike as the all pervading and empty vacuum every where4 ,and as all empty space in every place is alike and same with the infinite vacuity2 so the forms of things appearing to the limited understanding1 are all lost in the unlimited intellect4 #bh4 ,now ,vasishtha1 go to your place in your own world2 and have your peace and bliss in your own seat of samdhi-devotion4 ,consign your aerial worlds to empty air1 while ,i myself to the supreme ,brahma do repair4 ,,chapter ,,lxxi4 ,,description ,,of ,,final ,,dissolution4 ,argument3--,conduct of ,kali age1 and ,termination of ,brahm's ,creation at the ,end4 ,vasishtha added3--,so saying1 ,brahm--the personified ,brahman1 sat in his posture of devotion--padmsana1 and resumed his intense meditation of the samdhi meditation2 and so did his celestial companions also4 #b4 ,he fixed his mind on the pause santa1 which is placed at the end of half syllable m--the final letter of the holy mantra of omkara2 and sat sedate with his steady attention 7on the ,divine71 as an unmoved picture in painting4 #c4 ,his concupiscent consort-vsan or desire1 followed his example also2 and sat reclined at the end of all her endless wishes1 as an empty and formless vacuity4 7,the devotee must become a nullity1 for his union with the unity74 #d4 ,when ,i saw them growing thin for want of their desires1 ,i also reduced myself by means of my meditation1 until ,i found myself as one with all pervading ,intellect2 in the form of endless vacuity 7and perceived every thing that was going on everywhere74 #e4 ,i saw that as the desires of ,brahm were drying up in himself1 so ,i found all nature to be fading away1 with the contraction of the earth and ocean1 together with the diminution of their hills and islands4 #f4 ,i saw the trees and plants and all sorts of vegetables1 were fading away with the decay of their growth2 and all creation seemed to come to its end in a short time4 #g4 ,it seemed that the stupendous body of ,virt1 which contained the whole universe1 was sick in every part2 and the great earth which was borne in his body1 was now falling insensibly into decline and decay4 #h4 ,she is now stricken with years1 and grown dull and dry without her genial moisture1 and is wasting away as a withered tree in the cold season 7lit4--in the cold month of ,christmas1 when the icy breath of winter withers every green74 #i4 ,as the insensibility of our hearts1 stupifies the members of our bodies2 so did the anesthesia of ,one produce the obtuseness of all things in the world4 7,the creative power failing1 all creation dwindles away74 #aj4 ,the world was threatened by many a portent and ill omen on all sides1 and men were hastening to hell-fire2 and burning in the flame of their sins4 7,the end of ,kali or sinful age1 is the precursor to its final doom of the dooms-day74 #aa4 ,the earth was a scene of oppression and famine1 troubles1 calamities and poverty1 waited on mankind every where2 and as women trespassed the bounds of decorum1 so did men transgress the bounds of order and conduct4 #ab4 ,the sun was obscured by mist and frost1 resembling gusts of ashes and dust2 and the people were greatly and equally afflicted by the excess of heat and cold1 the two opposites which they knew not how to prevent4 7i4e4 ,all beings were tormented by the inclemencies of weather74 #ac4 ,the ,pamaras or ,pariahs1 were tormented by burning fires on one side1 and floods and draughts of rain water on the other2 while waging wars were devastating whole provinces altogether4 #ad4 ,tremendous portents were accompanied1 with the falling mountains and cities all around2 and loud uproars of the people rose around1 for the destruction of their children and many good and great men under them4 7i4e4 under the falling rocks and edifices74 #ae4 ,the land burst into deep ditches1 where there was no water course before2 and the peoples and rulers of men1 indulged themselves in promiscuous marriages4 #af4 ,all men living as way-farers or peddlers1 and all paths full of tailor shops2 all women dealing in their hairs and head-dressess1 and all rulers imposing head taxes on their people4 #ag4 ,all men living by hard labour1 and the reyets living upon litigation only2 women living in impiety and impurity1 and the rulers of men addicted to drinking4 #ah4 ,the earth was full of unrighteousness1 and its people were misled by heretical doctrines and vicious sstras2 all wicked men were wealthy and fortunate1 and good people all in distress and misery4 #ai4 ,the vile non-ryans1 were the rulers of earth1 and the respectables and learned men had fallen into disrepute and disregard2 and the people all were guided by their evil passions of anger1 avarice and animosity1 envy1 malice and the like4 #bj4 ,all men were apostates from their religion1 and inclined to the faith of others2 the ,brhmanas were furious in their dehortation1 and the vile borderers were persecutors of others4 7i4e4 they robbed themselves74 #ba4 ,robbers infested the cities and villages1 and robbed the temples of gods and the houses of good people2 and there were parasites1 pampered with the dainties of others1 but short lived and sickly with their gluttony4 #bb4 ,all men indulging themselves in their idleness and luxury1 and neglecting their rituals and duties2 and all the quarters of the globe1 presented a scene of dangers and difficulties1 woe and grief4 #bc4 ,cities and villages were reduced to ashes1 and the districts were laid waste on all sides2 the sky appeared to be weeping with its vaporous clouds1 and the air disturbed by its whirling tornadoes4 #bd4 ,the land resounded with the loud crying and wailing of widows and unfortunate women1 and they who remained at last1 compelled to live by beggary4 #be4 ,the country was dry and anhydrous1 and lying bare and barren in all parts2 the seasons were unproductive of season-fruits and flowers2 so every part of this earthly body of ,brahm1 was out of order and painful to him4 #bf4 ,there was a great dearth on earth1 upon her approaching dissolution1 and the body of ,brahm grew senseless1 owing to the loss of the watery element1 in all its canals of rivers and seas4 #bg4 ,the spirit of ,brahm being disturbed1 there occurred a disorder in the course of nature2 and it brought on a transgression of good manners1 as when the waters of rivers and seas overflowed their boundaries4 #bh4 ,then the furious and sounding surges begin to break down their bounds1 and run mad upon the ground2 and the floods overflow the land1 and lay waste the woodlands4 #bi4 ,there were whirlpools1 whirling with hoarse noise1 and turning about on every side1 with tremendous violence2 and huge surges rose as high1 as to wash the face of the heavy clouds in the sky4 #cj4 ,the mountain caverns1 were resounding to the loud roars of huge clouds on high1 and heavy showers of rain fell in torrents from the sky1 and overflooded the mountain tops afar and nigh4 #ca4 ,gigantic whales1 were rolling along with the whirling waves of the ocean2 and the bosom of the deep appeared as a deep forest1 with the huge bodies of the whales floating upon the upheaving waves4 #cb4 ,the mountain caves were strewn over with the bodies of marine animals1 which were killed there by rapacious lions and tigers2 and the sky glittered with marine gems1 which were borne on high by the rising waters4 #cc4 ,the dashing of the rising waves of the sea1 against the falling showers of the sky2 and the dashing of the uplifted whales with elephantine clouds on high1 raised a loud uproar in the air4 #cd4 ,the elephants floating on the diluvian waters1 washed the faces of the luminaries1 with the waters spouted out of their nozzles2 and their justling against one another1 hurled the hills aground4 7,or they clashed on one another1 as two hills dashed over against the other74 #ce4 ,the sounding surges of the sea1 dashed against the rocks on the shore1 emitted a noise like the loud roar of elephants1 contending in the caverns of mountains4 #cf4 ,the nether sea invaded the upper sky1 and its turbulent waves drove the celestials from their abode2 as an earthly potentate attacks another1 and his triumphant host1 dispossesses the inhabitants with loud outcry4 #cg4 ,the overflowing waters covered the woods1 both in the earth and air2 and the overspreading waves filled the skies like the winged mountains of yore4 #ch4 ,high sounding winds were breaking the breakers of the sea1 and driving them ashore as fragments of mountains2 while their splashing waters1 dashed against the rocks on the shore1 and washed the fossil shells on the coast4 #ci4 ,whirling whirlpools1 were hurling the huge whales into them2 and ingulphing the falling rocks in their fathomless depth4 #dj4 ,big water elephants or whales were carried with the torrents1 and drowned in the depths of the caverns on the mountain tops2 and these they attempted to break1 with their hideous teeth or tusks4 #da4 ,the tortoise and crocodile hang suspended on the trees1 and extended their full length and breadth thereon2 and the vehicles of ,yama and ,indra 7i4e4 the buffalo and elephant71 stood aghast with their erect ears4 #db4 ,they listened to the fragments of rocks1 falling with hideous noise on the sea-shore2 and beheld fishes with their broken fins1 tossed up and down by the falling stones4 #dc4 ,the forests shook no more in their dancing mood1 and the waters on earth were all still and cold2 but the marine waters were flaming with the submarine fire1 emitting a dismal glare4 #dd4 ,the sea elephants or whales being afraid of the extinction of marine fire1 by the primeval waters 7which were the seat of ,nryana72 fell upon the waters on the mountain tops1 and contended with the earthly and mountainous elephants4 #de4 ,the rocks carried away by the rapid current1 appeared as dancing on the tops of the waves2 and there was a loud concussion of the swimming and drowned rocks 7mainkas71 as they dashed against the mountains on land4 #df4 ,large mountains and woods1 were now resorted to by men and wild animals2 and the driving droves of wild elephant1 were roaring as loud1 as the high sounding trumpets at a distance4 #dg4 ,the infernal regions were disturbed by the torrents of water1 as by the infernal demons2 and the elephants of the eight quarters1 raised loud cries with their uplifted trunks and nozzles4 #dh4 ,the nether world emitted a growling noise1 from their mouths of infernal caverns2 and the earth which is fastened to its polar axis1 turned as a wheel upon its axle4 #di4 ,the over flowing waters of the ocean1 broke their bounds with as much ease1 as they tear asunder the marine plants2 and the breathless skies resounded to the roaring of the clouds all around4 #ej4 ,the sky was split into pieces1 and fell down in fragments2 and the regents of the skies fled afar with loud cries4 ,and comets and meteors were hurled from heaven1 in the forms of whirlpools4 #ea4 ,there were fires and firebrands1 seen to be burning on all sides of the skies1 earth and heaven2 and flaming and flashing as liquid gold and luminous gems1 and as snakes with colour of vermilion4 #eb4 ,my flaming and flying portents1 with their burning crests and tails1 were seen to be flashing all about1 and flung by the hands of ,brahm1 both in the heaven above and earth below4 #ec4 ,all the great elementary bodies1 were disturbed and put out of order2 and the sun and moon and the regents of air and fire1 with the gods of heaven and hell 7name by ,pavana and ,agni1 and ,indra and ,yama71 were all in great confusion4 #ed4 ,the gods seated even in the abode of ,brahm1 were afraid of their impending fall2 when they heard the gigantic trees of the forests falling headlong1 with the tremendous crash of pata-pata noise4 #ee4 ,the mountains standing on the surface of the earth1 were shaking and tottering on all sides2 and a great earthquake shook the mountains of ,kailsa and ,meru1 to their very bottom and caverns and forests4 #ef4 ,the ominous tornadoes at the end of the kalpa period1 overthrew the mountains and cities and forests1 and overwhelmed the earth and all in a general ruin and confusion4 ,,chapter ,,lxxii4 ,,description ,,of ,,nirv,,na ,,or ,,final ,,extinction4 ,argument3--,brahm's suppression of his ,respiration2 his settling on the wings of air and his form of ,virt4 ,vasishtha continued3--,now the self-born ,brahm1 having compressed his breath in his form of ,virt 7or the heart72 the aerial or atmospheric air1 which is borne on the wings of wind1 lost its existence4 #b4 ,the atmospheric air1 which is the very breath of ,brahm being thus compressed in his breast2 what other air could there remain1 to uphold the starry frame and the system of the universe4 #c4 ,the atmospheric air1 being compressed with the vital breath of ,brahm2 the perturbed creation 7as described before71 was about to come to its ultimate quietus4 #d4 ,the firmament being no more upheld by its support of the air1 gave way to the fiery bodies of meteors1 to fall down on earth1 as starry flowers from the arbour of heaven4 #e4 ,the orbs of heaven1 being unsupported by the intermediate air1 were now falling on the ground2 like the unfailing and impending fruits of our deserts1 or the flying fates falling from above4 #f4 ,the gross desire or the crude will of ,brahm1 being now at its end at the approach of dissolution2 there was an utter stop1 of the actions and motions of the siddhas1 as that of the flame of fire before its extinction4 #g4 ,the world-destroying winds were winding in the air1 like the thin and flying scraps of cotton2 and then the siddhas fell down mute from heaven1 after the loss of their strength and power of speech4 #h4 ,the great fabrics of human wishes1 fell down with the cities of the ,gods2 and the peaks of mountain were hurled headlong1 by shocks of tremendous earthquakes4 #i4 ,rma rejoined3--,now sir1 if the world is but a representation of the ideal in the mind of the great ,god ,brahm or ,virt2 then what is the difference of earth1 heaven and hell to him 7who encompasses the whole in his body or mind74 #aj4 ,how can these worlds be said1 to be the members of his body2 or can it be thought1 that the ,god resides in them with his stupendous form4 #aa4 ,i well know that ,brahm is wilful spirit of ,god1 and has no form of himself2 and so do ,i take this world1 for a formless representation of the will or idea in the ,divine ,mind4 ,please sir1 explain this clearly unto me4 #ab4 ,vasishtha replied3--,in the beginning this world was not in existence1 nor inexistence either2 because there was the eternal ,intellect1 which engrossed all infinity in itself1 and the whole vacuity of space with its essence4 #ac4 ,this vacuity of it 7the subjective chit71 is known as the objective chetya or thought2 and the intellect without forsaking its form1 becomes chetana or the power of intellection 7or the mind7 itself4 #ad4 ,know this intellection as the jva or living soul1 which being condensed 7with feelings c47 becomes the gross mind2 but none of these essences or forms of existence1 have any form whatever4 #ae4 ,the vacuity of the intellect1 remains as the pure vacuum in itself forever2 and all this which appears as otherwise1 is no other and nothing without the self-same soul4 #af4 ,the very soul assumes to it its egoism 7or personality71 and thinking itself as the mind1 becomes sullied with its endless desires1 in its vacuous form4 7,the pure soul is changed to the impure spirit or volitive mind74 #ag4 ,then this intellectual principle1 thinks itself as the air1 by its own volition2 and by this false supposition of itself1 it becomes of an aerial form in the open air4 #ah4 ,then it thinks of its future gross form1 and immediately finds itself transformed to an aerial body1 by its volition or sankalpa4 7,the will being master to the thought74 #ai4 ,though the soul1 spirit and mind1 are vacuous in their natures2 yet they can assume aerial forms to themselves by their will1 as the mind sees its imaginary cities2 and so doth the ,lord take upon ,him any form it pleases4 #bj4 ,and as the knowledge of our minds1 is purely of an aerial nature1 so the intelligence of the all-intelligent ,lord is likewise of an intellectual kind2 and he takes and forsakes any form as he supposes and pleases for himself4 #ba4 ,as we advance to the knowledge of recondite truth1 so we come to lose the perception of size and extension2 and to know this extended world as a mere nullity1 though it appears as a positive entity4 #bb4 ,by knowledge of the real truth1 we get rid of our desires1 as it is by our knowledge of the unity and the absence of our egoism or personality1 that we obtain our liberation4 7i4e4 ,the knowledge of our nothingness74 #bc4 ,such is ,he--the supreme ,one1 and is ,brahma the entity of the world4 ,and know ,virt1 ,o ,rma1 to be the body of ,brahma1 and the form of the visible world4 7,brahma1 ,brahm and ,virt1 are the triple hypostasis of the ,one and same ,god74 #bd4 ,the desires or will1 is of the form of empty vacuum1 and the erroneous conceptions which rise in it2 the same give birth to the world1 which is thence called the mundane egg4 #be4 ,know all this is non esse1 and the forms you see1 are but formation of your fancy2 in reality there is nothing in esse2 and tuism and egoism are no entities at any time4 #bf4 ,how can the gross world be ever attached to the simple ,intellect1 which is of the nature of a void2 how can a cause or secondary causality1 be ever produced in or come out from a mere void8 #bg4 ,therefore all this production is false1 and all that is seen a mere falsity2 all this is a mere void and nothing1 which erroneously taken for something4 #bh4 ,it is the ,intellect only which exhibits itself1 in the forms of the world and its productions1 in the same manner as the air begets its pulsations 7in the form of winds71 in the very calm air itself4 #bi4 ,the world is either as something or as nothing at all1 and devoid of unity and duality2 know the whole to lie in the empty vacuity of the ,intellect1 and is as void and transparent as the same4 #cj4 ,i am extinct to all these endless particulars and distinctions1 and whether you take them as real or unreal1 and be with or without your egoism1 it is nothing to me4 #ca4 ,be without any desire and quiet in your mind1 remain silent and without fickleness in your conduct2 do whatever you have to do1 or avoid to do it without anxiety4 #cb4 ,the eternal ,one1 that is ever existent in our notion of ,him1 is manifest also in the phenomenal1 which is no other than ,himself4 ,but our imperfect notion of ,god1 has many things in it which are unknown to us and beyond our comprehension2 and such are the phenomenals also1 that are so palpable unto us4 7,we have the innate idea of ,god1 but no knowledge of his inner or outer nature and attributes1 which are displayed in all existence74 ,,chapter ,,lxxiii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,person ,,of ,,vir,t--,,the ,,god ,,of ,,nature4 ,argument3--,if there is no truth or untruth in the creation1 how can both be true or false at once4 ,rma said3--,sir1 you have said at length regarding our bondage and liberation1 and our knowledge of the world as neither a reality nor an unreality also2 and that it neither rises nor sets1 but is always existent as at first and ever before4 #b4 ,i have well understood ,sir1 all your lectures on the subjects1 and yet wish to know more of these1 for my full satisfaction with the ambrosial drops of your speech4 #c4 ,tell me sir1 how there is no truth nor any untruth1 either an erroneous view of the creation as a reality1 or its view as a mere vacuum3 #d4 ,in such a case1 ,i well understand what is the real truth2 yet ,i want you to tell more of this1 for my comprehension of the subject of creation4 #e4 ,vasishtha replied3--,all this world that is visible to us1 with all its moving and unmoving creatures2 and all things with all their varieties1 occasioned by difference of country and climate4 #f4 ,all these are subject to destruction1 at the great dissolution of the world2 together with ,brahm1 ,indra1 ,upendra1 ,mahendra and the ,rudras at the end4 #g4 ,then there remains something alone1 which is unborn and increate and without its beginning2 and which is ever calm and quiet in its nature4 ,to this no words can reach1 and of which nothing can be known4 #h4 ,as the mountain is larger and more extended than a mustard seed1 so is the sky much more than that2 but the entity of vacuity is the greatest of all4 #i4 ,again as the dusts of the earth1 are smaller than the great mountain2 so the stupendous universe1 is a minute particle in comparison with the infinite entity of the vacuity of ,god4 #aj4 ,after the long lapse of unmeasured time1 in the unlimited space of eternity 7i4e4 at the end of a ,kalpa age72 and after the dissolution of all existence in the transcendent vacuum of the ,divine ,mind 7lit41 thinking soul74 #aa4 ,at this time the great vacuous intellect1 which is unlimited by space and time1 and is quite tranquil by being devoid of all its desire and will2 looks in itself by its reminiscence1 the atomic world in aeriform state 7as the soul ruminates over the past in its dream74 #ab4 ,the intellect reconnoitres over this unreality within itself1 as it were in its dream2 and then it thinks on the sense of the word ,brahma or enlargement1 and beholds the dilation of these minutiae in their intellectual forms 7i4e4 the developed ideas74 #ac4 ,it is the nature of the intellect to know the minute ideas1 which are contained in its sensory2 and because it continues to look upon them1 it is called their looker4 7i4e4 ,the subjective principle of the objective thoughts74 #ad4 7,in order to clear how the intellect can be both the subjective and objective at once1 it is said that37 ,as a man sees himself as dead in his dream1 and the dead man sees his own death2 so doth the intellect see the minute ideas in itself4 7,hence it is not impossible for the contraries to subsist together74 #ae4 ,hence it is the nature of the intellect1 to see its unity as a duality within itself2 and to remain of its own nature1 as both the subjective and objective by itself4 #af4 ,the intellect is of the nature of vacuum1 and therefore formless in itself2 and yet it beholds the minute ideas to rise as visibles before it1 and thereby the subjective viewer becomes the duality of the objective view also4 #ag4 ,it then finds its minute self1 springing out distinctly in its own conception2 just as a seed is found to sprout forth in its germ4 7,this is the first step of the conception of personality of the universal spirit74 #ah4 ,it has then the distinct view of space and time1 and of substance and its attributes and actions before its sight2 but as these are yet in their state of internal conceptions1 they have as yet received no names for themselves4 #ai4 ,wherever the particle of the intellect shines 7or that which is perceptible to it72 is called the place 7or object71 and whenever it is perceived the same is termed as time1 and the act of perception is styled the action4 #bj4 ,whatever is perceived 7by the intellect71 the same is said as the object2 and the sight or seeing thereof by it1 is the cause of its perception1 just as the light of a luminary1 is the cause of ocular vision4 #ba4 ,thus endless products of the intellect appear before it1 as distinct from one another by their time1 place1 and action2 and all these appearing as true1 like the various colours of the skies in the sky4 #bb4 ,the light of the intellect shines through different parts of the body1 as the eye is the organ whereby it sees2 and so the other organs of sense for its perception of other objects4 7,all these are called axas answering the sight of the eyes74 #bc4 ,the intellectual particle1 shining at first within itself1 bears no distinct name except that of tanmtra or its inward perception2 which is as insignificant a term as empty air4 #bd4 ,but the shadow of the atomic intellect falling upon the empty air1 becomes the solid body2 which shoots forth into the five organs of sense1 owing to its inquest into their five objects of form and the rest4 #be4 ,the intellectual principle1 being then in need of retaining its sensations in the sensorium1 becomes the mind and understanding 7which is called the sixth or internal organ of sense74 #bf4 ,then the mind being actuated by its vanity1 takes upon it the denomination of egoism1 and is inclined to make imaginary divisions of space and time4 #bg4 ,thus the minute intellect comes to make distinctions of time1 by giving them the different denomination of the present1 past and future4 #bh4 ,again with regard to space1 it denominates one place as upper and another as lower2 and goes on giving different appellations of sides 7or the points of compass71 to one invariable space in nature4 #bi4 ,it then comes to understand the meanings of words1 and invent the terms signifying time and space1 action and substance4 #cj4 ,thus the intellect bearing a vacuous form in the primordial vacuum1 became the spiritual or lingadha of its own accord1 until it was diffused all over the world 7which is thence called the mundane ,god74 #ca4 ,having long remained in that state as it thought1 it took upon it the compleately concrete material form through which it was transfused4 #cb4 ,though formed originally of air in the original air1 and was perfectly pure in its nature2 yet being incorporated in the false corporeal form1 it forgot its real nature2 as the solar heat in conjunction with sand1 is mistaken for water4 #cc4 ,it then takes upon itself and of its own will1 a form reaching to the skies2 to which it applied to the sense of the word head to some part1 and that of the word feet to another4 7,the highest heaven is the head and the earth the foot-stools of ,god74 #cd4 ,it applied to itself the sense of the words breast1 sides and to other parts1 by adopting their figurative sense and rejecting the literal ones4 7,virt is the human figure for the macrocosm of the universe74 #ce4 ,by thinking constantly on the forms of things1 as this is a cow and that is a horse c41 as also of their being bounded by space and time2 it became conversant with the objects of different senses4 #cf4 ,the same intellectual particle1 saw likewise the different parts of its body2 which it termed its hands1 feet c41 as its outward members2 and the heart c41 as the inner members of the body4 #cg4 ,in this manner is formed the body of ,brahm1 as also those of ,vishnu and the ,rudras and other ,gods2 and so also the forms of men and worms are produced from their conception of the same4 #ch4 ,but in fact there is nothing1 that is really made or formed2 for all things are now1 as they have been ever before4 ,all this is the original vacuum1 and primeval intelligence2 and all forms are the false formations of fancy4 #ci4 ,virt is the seed producing the plants of the three worlds1 which are productive of many more1 as one root produces many bulbs under it4 ,belief in the creation1 puts a bolt to the door of salvation2 and the appearance of the world1 is as that of a light and fleeting cloud without any rain4 #dj4 ,this ,virt is the first male1 rising unseen of his own will4 ,he is the cause of all actions and acts4 #da4 ,he has no material body1 no bone or flesh1 nor is he capable of being grasped under the fist of anybody4 #db4 ,he is as quiet and silent1 as the roaring sea and cloud1 and the loud roar of lions and elephants1 and the din of battle1 is unheard by the sleeping man4 #dc4 ,he remains neither as a reality1 nor entirely as an unreality2 but like the notion of a waking man1 of a warrior seen to be fighting in his dream4 7i4e4 ,as the faint idea of an object seen in dream74 #dd4 ,although his huge body stretches to millions of miles1 yet it is contained in an atom with all the worlds that lie hid in every pore of his body4 7,meaning--the cosmos contained in a grain of the brain74 #de4 ,though thousands of worlds and millions of mountains compose the great body of the unborn ,virt1 yet they are not enough to fill it altogether1 as a large quantity of grain1 is not sufficient to fill a winnowing basket4 #df4 ,though myriads of worlds are stretched in his body1 yet they are but an atom in comparison with its infinity2 and the ,virt is represented to contain all in his body1 yet it occupies no space or place1 but resembles a baseless mountain in a dream4 #dg4 ,he is called the self-born and ,virt also1 and though he is said to be the body and soul of the world1 yet he is quite a void himself4 #dh4 ,he is also named as ,rudra and ,sanatana1 and ,indra and ,upendro also2 he is likewise the wind1 the cloud and the mountain in his person4 #di4 ,the minute particle of the ,intellect1 like a small spark of fire1 inflates and spreads itself at first2 and then by thinking its greatness1 it takes the form of chitta or the thinking mind1 which with its self-consciousness becomes the vast universe4 #ej4 ,then being conscious of its afflation1 it becomes the wind in motion2 and this is the aeriform body of ,virt4 #ea4 ,then it becomes the vital breath1 from the consciousness of its inspiration and expiration in the open air4 #eb4 ,it then imagines of an igneous particle in its mind1 as children fancy a ghost where there is none2 and this assumes the forms of luminous bodies 7of the sun1 moon1 and stars7 in the sky4 #ec4 ,the vital breath of respiration1 are carried by turns through the respiratory organs into the heart2 whence it is borne on the wings of air to sustain the world1 which is the very heart of ,virt4 #ed4 ,this ,virt is the first rudiment of all individual bodies in the world1 and in their various capacities forever4 #ee4 ,it is from this universal soul1 that all individual bodies have their rise1 and according to their sundry desires2 and as these differ from one another in their outward shapes1 so they are different also in their inward natures and inclinations4 #ef4 ,as the seed of ,virt sprang forth at first1 in the nature and constitution of every individual being2 it continues to do so in the same manner in the heart of every living1 agreeably to the will of the same causal principle4 #eg4 ,the sun1 moon and the winds1 are as the bile1 phlegm in the body of ,brahm2 and the planets and stars1 are as the circulating breath and drops of the spittle of phlegm of that deity4 #eh4 ,the mountains are his bones1 and the clouds his flesh2 but we can never see his head and feet1 nor his body and skin4 #ei4 ,know1 ,o ,rma1 this world to be the body of ,virt1 and an imaginary form by his imagination only4 ,hence the earth and heaven and all the contents1 are but the shadow of his ,intellectual vacuity4 ,,chapter ,,lxxiv4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,cosmical ,,body ,,of ,,vir,t 7,,continued74 ,argument3--,description of the several parts and ,members of the body of ,virt4 ,vasishtha continued3--,hear now more about the body of ,virt1 which he assumed to himself of his own will in that ,kalpa epoch1 together with the variety of its order and division1 and its various customs and usages4 #b4 ,it is the transcendent vacuous sphere of the intellect1 which makes the very body of ,virt2 it has no beginning1 middle or end1 and is as light as an aerial or imaginary form4 #c4 ,brahm who is without desire1 beheld the imaginary mundane-egg appearing about him1 in its aerial form 7of a chimera74 #d4 ,then ,brahm divided this imaginary world of his in twain4 ,it was of a luminous form1 from which he came out as a luminary1 like a bird matured in its egg4 7,this is hence called ,brahmnda or egg of ,brahm74 #e4 ,he beheld one half 7or the upper hemisphere7 of this egg1 rising high in the upper sky2 and saw the other half to constitute the lower world1 and both of which he considered as parts of himself4 #f4 ,the upper part of ,brahm's egg1 is termed as the head of ,virt2 the lower part is styled his footstool1 and the midway region is called his waist4 #g4 ,the midmost part of the two far separated portions1 is of immense extent1 and appearing as a blue and hollow vault all around us4 #h4 ,the heaven is the upper roof of this hollow1 likening to the palate of the open mouth1 and the stars which are studded in it1 resemble the spots of blood in it4 ,the breath of the mouth is as vital air1 which supports all mortals and the immortal ,gods4 #i4 ,the ghosts1 demons and ogres1 are as worms in his body2 and the cavities of spheres of the different worlds1 are as the veins and arteries in his body4 #aj4 ,the nether worlds below us1 are the footstools of ,virt2 and the cavities under his knees1 are as the pits of infernal regions4 #aa4 ,the great basin of water in the midst of the earth1 and surrounding the islands in the midst of them2 is as the navel and its pit in the centre of the body of ,virt4 #ab4 ,the rivers with the purling waters in them1 resemble the arteries of ,virt with the purple blood running in them2 and the ,jam-bu-dvpa is as his lotiform heart1 with the mount ,meru as its pericarp4 #ac4 ,the sides of his body1 are as the sides of the sky2 and the hills and rocks on earth1 resemble the spleen and liver in the body of ,virt2 and the collection of cooling clouds in the sky1 is like the thickening mass of fat in his body4 #ad4 ,the sun and the moon are the two eyes of ,virt1 and the high heaven is his head and mouth2 the moon is his marrow1 and the mountains are the filth of his person4 #ae4 ,the fire is the burning heat1 and bile in his bowels2 and the air is the breath of his nostrils 7and so the other elements are humours of his body74 #af4 ,the forests of ,kalpa trees and other woods1 and the serpentine races of the infernal regions1 are the hairs and tufts of hairs on his head and body4 7,all these are parts of the one undivided whole of ,virt's body74 #ag4 ,the upper region of the solar world1 forms the capt head of ,virt's body2 and the zodiacal light in the concavity beyond the mundane system1 is the crest on top of ,virt's head4 #ah4 ,he is the universal ,mind itself1 has no individual mind of his own2 and he being the sole enjoyer of all things1 there is nothing in particular that forms the object of his enjoyment4 #ai4 ,he is the sum of all the senses1 therefore there is no sense beside himself2 and the soul of ,virt being fully sensible of every thing1 it is a mere fiction to attribute to him the property of any organ of sense4 7,it is a mere figure of speech to say ,god hears and sees1 when the omniscient soul knows all without the aid of the organs of seeing and hearing74 #bj4 ,there is no difference of the property of an organ 7as the hearing of the ear72 and its possessor--the mind1 in the person of ,virt1 who perceives by his mind all organic sensations1 without the medium of their organs4 #ba4 ,there is no difference in doings of ,virt and those of the world2 it is his will or thought alone which acts with many 7or active7 force 7on the passive world71 both in their transitive as well as in their causal forms4 #bb4 ,all actions and events of the world1 being said to be same with his1 our lives and deaths in this world1 are all conformable to his will4 7,this passage is explained in four different ways in the gloss74 #bc4 ,it is by his living that the world lives1 and so it dies away with his death2 and just as it is the case1 with the air and its motion1 so it is with the world and ,virt to act or subside together4 7,but ,virt being the god of nature in general1 he acts by general and not by partial laws1 and is therefore neither affected by particular events nor ever directs any particular accident at any place or time74 7,both of which are the one and the samething74 #bd4 ,the world and ,virt are both of the same essence1 as that of air and its motion in the wind2 that which is the world1 the same is ,virt2 and what ,virt is1 the very same is the world also4 7,the same thing personified as another74 #be4 ,the world is both ,brahm as well as ,virt1 and both of which are its synonyms according to its successive stages2 and are but forms of the will of the pure and vacuous intellect of ,god4 7,the will was at the beginning1 ,aham bahu syam2 i4e4 ,i will become many74 #bf4 ,rma asked3--,be it so that ,virt is the personified will of ,god1 and of the form of vacuum2 but how is it that he is considered as ,brahma himself in his inner person8 #bg4 ,vasishtha replied3--,as you consider yourself as ,rma and so situated in your person also2 so ,brahm--the great father of all1 is the wilful soul only in his person4 #bh4 ,the souls of holy men also1 are full with ,brahma in themselves2 and their material bodies1 are as mere images of them4 #bi4 ,and as your living soul is capable1 of fixing its residence in your body2 so the self-willed soul of ,brahma1 is by far more able to reside in his body of the ,brahmnda-,universe4 #cj4 ,if it is possible for the plant1 to reside in its seed1 and for animal life to dwell in the body2 it must likewise be much more possible for the spirit of ,brahma1 to dwell in a body of its own imagination4 #ca4 ,whether the ,lord be in his consolidated form of the world1 or in his subtile form of the mind1 ,he is the same in his essence1 though the one lies inside and the other outside of us1 in his inward and outward appearance4 #cb4 ,the holy hermit who is delighted in himself1 and continues as mute as a log of wood and as quiet as a block of stone2 remains with his knowledge of ,i and thou 7i4e4 of the subjective and objective as well as of the general and particular7 fixed in the universal soul of ,virt4 #cc4 ,the holy and ,god knowing man1 is passionless under all persecution1 as an idol which they make with ligatures of straw and string2 he remains as calm as the sea1 after its howling waves are hushed2 and though he may be engaged in a great many affairs in the world1 yet he remains as calm and quiet in his mind1 as a stone is unperturbed in its heart4 ,,chapter ,,lxxv4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,final ,,conflagration ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,destruction of the world by the great fire1 produced by a dozen of suns at the behest of ,brahm4 ,vasishtha continued3--,then sitting in my meditation of ,brahm1 ,i cast my eyes around1 ,i came to the sight of the region before me4 #b4 ,it being then midday1 ,i beheld a secondary sun behind me1 appearing as a conflagration over a mountain 7or a burning mountain71 at the furthest border of that side4 #c4 ,i saw the sun in the sky as a ball of fire1 and another in the water burning as the submarine fire2 ,i beheld a burning sun in the south east corner1 and another in the southern quarter4 #d4 ,thus ,i saw four fiery suns on the four sides of heaven1 and as many in the four corners of the sky also4 #e4 ,i was astonished to find so many suns all at once in all the sides of heaven2 and their flame-fire which seemed to burn down their presiding divinities--the ,agni1 ,vyu1 ,yama1 ,indra c4 7,the twelve suns of ,hindu ,astronomy1 are the so many solar mansions in the twelve signs of the zodiac1 which encircle all the sides of the compass1 together with the personified climates under the same74 #f4 ,as ,i was looking astonished at these unnatural appearances1 in the heavens above2 there appeared on a sudden a terrestrial sun before me1 bursting out of the submarine regions below4 #g4 ,eleven of these suns were as reflexions of the one sun1 seen in a prismatic mirror2 and they rose out of the three suns of ,brahm1 ,vishnu and ,siva1 in the vacuity of the different sides of heaven4 7,the gloss explains the eleven suns1 as the eleven ,rudra forms of ,siva--the god of destruction amidst the ,hindu ,trinity74 #h4 ,the same form of ,rudra with its three eyes1 shone forth in the forms of the twelve burning suns of heaven4 7,as ,siva with the eleven ,rudras1 makes the number twelve1 so doth the sun with the other eleven signs of the zodiac1 make the same number74 #i4 ,in this manner the sun burnt down the world1 as the flame of fire burns away dry wood of the forest2 and the world was dried up of its moisture1 as in the parching days of summer season4 #aj4 ,the solar fire burnt away the woods1 without any literal fire or flame2 and the whole earth was as dry as dust by this fireless incendiarism4 #aa4 ,my body became heated and my blood boiled as by the heat of a wild fire2 and ,i left that place of torrid heat1 and ascended to the remoter and higher regions of air4 #ab4 ,i beheld the heavenly bodies hurling as tops1 flung from the string held by a mighty hand2 and ,i saw from my aerial seat1 the rising of the blazing suns in heaven4 #ac4 ,i beheld the twelve suns burning in the ten sides of it1 and ,i saw also the extensive spheres of the stars1 whirling with incredible velocity4 #ad4 ,the waters of the seven oceans were boiling1 with a gurgling noise2 and burning meteors were falling over the cities in farthest worlds4 #ae4 ,the flame flashed upon distant mountains1 making them flare with vermeil hue1 and splitting noise2 and continued lightnings flashed upon the great edifices on every side1 and put the canopy of heaven in a flame4 #af4 ,the falling buildings emitted a cracking and crackling noise all around1 and the earth was covered with columns of dark smoke1 as by the thickening clouds and mists4 #ag4 ,the fumes rising as crystal columns1 appeared as turrets and spires upon the towers on earth2 and the loud noise of wailing beasts and men1 raised a gurgling 7gharghara7 clangor all over the ground4 #ah4 ,the falling of cities upon men and beasts1 made a hideous noise and huge heaps of omnium gatherum on earth2 and the falling stars from heaven1 strewed the earth with fragments of gems and jewels4 #ai4 ,all human habitations were in flames1 with the bodies of men and beasts1 burning in their respective homes and houses2 and the noiseless skirts of villages and towns1 were filled with the stink of dead and burning bodies4 #bj4 ,the aquatic animals were stewed1 under the tepid waters of the seas3 and the cry of people within the city1 was hushed by the howling of the ambient flames on all sides4 #ba4 ,the elephants of the four quarters of heaven1 fell down and rolled upon the burning ground1 and uplifted the hills with their tusks 7to shelter themselves from the falling fires72 while the caverns of the mountains1 were emitting gusts of smoke1 from the subterranean fire4 #bb4 ,the burning hamlets and habitations1 were crushed and smashed under the falling stones and hills2 while the mountain elephants yelled aloud1 with their deadly groans and agonies4 #bc4 ,heated by sunheat1 all living beings rushed to and splashed the hot waters of seas1 and the mountainous vidydharas fell down into the hollow bosom of mountains1 bursting by their volcanic heat4 #bd4 ,some being tired with crying1 and others resorting to their yoga meditation1 remained quiet in some places2 and the serpent races were left to roll on the burning cinders1 both below as well as upon the earth4 #be4 ,the voracious marine beasts as sharks and whales2 being baked in the drying channels1 were driven to the whirlpools of the deep2 and the poor fishes attempting to evade the smart fire1 flew into the airs by thousands and thousands4 #bf4 ,the burning flames1 then clad as it were1 in crimson apparel1 rose high in the air2 and there leaping as it were in dancing1 caught the garments of the ,apsaras in heaven4 #bg4 ,the desolating ,kalpa fire1 being then wreathed with its flashing flames1 began to dance about all around2 with the loud sound of bursting bamboos and cracking trees1 as it were with the beating of drums and timbrels4 #bh4 ,the sportive fire danced about like a playful actor1 in the ruinous stage of the world4 #bi4 ,the fire ravaged through all lands and islands1 and desolated all forests and forts2 it filled all caves and caverns and the hollow vault of sky1 till at last it over reached the tops of the ten sides of heaven4 #cj4 ,it blazed in caverns and over cities and in all sides of dales1 and the lands2 it blazed over hills and mountain tops1 and the sites of the siddhas and on the seas and oceans4 #ca4 ,the flames flashing from the eyes of ,siva1 and the ,rudras1 boiled the waters of the lakes and rivers2 and burned the bodies of devas and demons1 and those of men and serpent races2 and there arose a hoarse whispering sound from everywhere4 #cb4 ,with column of flaming fire over their head1 they began to play by throwing ashes upon one another2 like the playful demon's flirtation with dust and water4 #cc4 ,flames flashed forth from subterranean cells and caves on earth1 and all things situated amidst them1 were reddened by their light4 #cd4 ,all the sides of heaven lost their azure hue1 under the vermilion colour of the clouds which hung over them2 and all things and the rubicund sky1 lost their respective hues1 and assumed the rosy tint of the red lotus 7sthala padma--growing on land74 #ce4 ,the world appeared to be covered under a crimson canopy1 by the burning flames which overspread it all around1 and resembled the evening sky under the parting glories of the setting sun4 #cf4 ,overspread with the flaming fires1 the sky appeared as an overhanging garden of blooming ,asoka flowers1 or as a bed of the red kinsuka blossoms hanging aloft in the sky4 #cg4 ,the earth appeared to be strewn over with red lotuses and the seas seemed to be sprinkled with red dye2 in this manner the fire blazed in many forms1 with its tails and crests of smoke4 #ch4 ,the fire of conflagration1 raged with its youthful vigour in the forest1 where it glared in variegated colours1 as a burning scenery is shown in a painting4 #ci4 ,the vicissitudes of sunrise and sunset 7i4e4 the succession of day and night71 now disappeared from the vindhyan mountain1 owing to the continual burning of the woods upon its summit4 #dj4 ,the flying fumes had the appearance of the blue sahya mountain in the south 7,deccan71 from their emitting the flashes of fire in the midst1 like the lustre of the gems in that mountain4 #da4 ,the blue vault of the sky seemed as a cerulean lake1 decorated with lotus like fire brands all over it1 and the flames of fire flashed over the tops of the cloudy mountains in air 7like the brisk dancing of actresses in a play74 #db4 ,flames of fire with their smoky tails1 resembling the train of a comet1 danced about on the stage of the world1 in the manner of dancing actresses1 with the loosened and flouncing hair4 #dc4 ,the burning fire burst the parched ground1 and flung its sparkling particles all around1 like the fried rice flying all about the frying pan in various colours4 #dd4 ,then the burning rocks and woods exhibited a golden hue on the breast of the earth1 with their bursting and splitting noise 7as if the earth was beating her breast at her impending destruction74 #de4 ,all lands were crushed together with the cry of their inhabitants1 and all the seas dashed against one another1 with foaming froths in their mouths4 #df4 ,the waves shone in their faces1 with the reflexion of the shining sun upon them2 they clashed against each other1 as if they were clapping their hands2 and dashed with such force against the land1 that they beat and broke down the rocks on the sea shore4 #dg4 ,the raging sea with his billowy arms1 grasped the earth and stone1 as foolish men do in their anger2 and devoured them in his hollow cell with a gurgling noise1 as fools swallow their false hopes with vain bawling4 #dh4 ,the all destroying fire with a hoarse sound1 melted down the rivers with their banks1 and the regents of the sphere fell before the geysers4 #di4 ,the ten sides of the compass1 were out of order and confounded together2 and all the mountains were reduced to the form of liquid gold 7fire71 with their woods and abodes and caves and caverns4 #ej4 ,by degrees the prodigious mountain ,meru1 was dissolved to snow by the heat of fire2 and soon after the great mount of ,himlaya1 was melted down as lac-dye by the same fire4 #ea4 ,all things were cold and pinched in themselves1 as good people are thawed by the awe of the wicked2 except the ,malaya mountain1 which yielded its fragrance even in that state 7of its tribulation74 #eb4 ,the noble minded man never forsakes his nobleness1 though he is exposed to troubles2 because the great never afflict another1 though they are deprived of their own joy and happiness4 #ec4 ,burn the sandal wood1 yet it will diffuse its fragrance to all living beings2 because the intrinsic nature of a thing1 is never lost or changed into another state4 #ed4 ,gold is never consumed nor disfigured1 though it is burnt in the fire of a conflagration2 thus there are two things1 namely1 aura and vacuum1 that cannot be consumed by the all destroying fire4 #ee4 ,those bodies are above all praise1 which do not perish at the perdition of all others2 such as the vacuum is indestructible on account of its omnipresence1 and gold is not subject to any loss owing to its purity4 #ef4 ,the property of goodness 7sattwa7 alone is true happiness1 and neither rajas nor ostentation or passion4 ,then the fiery clouds moved aloft as a moving forest1 ashed showers of vivid flame4 #eg4 ,mountainous clouds of fire1 accompanied with flame and fume1 poured liquid fire around2 and burnt away all bodies1 already dried up by heat and for want of water4 #eh4 ,the dried leaves of trees ascending high in the air1 were burnt away by the flame instead of the rain of heavy clouds4 7,now the clouds were heavy with fire1 and not with rain water74 #ei4 ,the ambient and gorgeous flame passed by the ,kailsa mountain without touching it1 knowing it to be the seat of the dread ,god ,siva2 in the manner of wise men1 flying from the mud and mire of sin 7knowing it to be attended with their perdition74 #fj4 ,then the ,god ,rudra growing furious1 at the final destruction of the world1 darted the direful flame of his igneous eyes1 and burnt down the sturdy arbours and robust rocks to ashes1 with their stunning cracklings4 #fa4 ,the hills at the foot of mountains1 being crowned with flames of fire1 moved forward as it were1 to fight against the fire1 with their stones and clubs of the clumps of trees4 #fb4 ,the sky became as a bed of full blown lotuses1 and creation became a mere name as that of ,agastya1 that departed and disappeared for ever from sight4 #fc4 ,the suffering idiot on remembering into his mind the ,kalpnta1 took the world to be at an end2 as the fire consumes all objects like the unreality of the world4 #fd4 ,the falling thunderbolts pierced all bodies1 and the glittering flames inflamed all the trees and plants2 the winds too blew with fiery heat1 and scorched the bodies of even the gods1 and singed all things on every side4 #fe4 ,here the wild fire was raging loose among the arbours in the forest1 and there were clouds of hot ashes flying in the air2 and smoky mists emitting red hot embers and fiery sparks4 ,again darknesses were rising upward with faggots of fire falling from amidst them1 and gusts of wind blew with speed and force1 to befriend the destructive fire4 7,the air enkindled and spread the wild fire all about74 ,,chapter ,,lxxvi4 ,,the ,,stridor ,,of ,,pushkar,,varta ,,clouds4 ,argument3--,description of the ,devouring fire below1 and the ,deluging clouds above4 ,vasishtha added3--,now blew the destroying winds1 shaking the mountains by their force3 and filling the seas with tremendous waves1 and rending the skies with cyclonic storms4 #b4 ,the bounded seas broke their bounds1 and ran to the boundless oceans by impulse of the wind1 as poor people run to the rich1 by compulsion of their driving poverty4 #c4 ,the earth being fried by the fire1 went under the overflowing waters2 and joined with the infernal regions1 lying below the waters of the deep4 #d4 ,the heaven disappeared into nothing1 and the whole creation vanished into the air4 ,the worlds were reduced to vacuum1 and the solar light dwindled to that of a star in the starry sphere4 #e4 ,there appeared from some cavity of the sky some hideous clouds1 called ,pushkara ,avartaka and others in the forms of dreadful demons1 and roaring with tremendous noise4 #f4 ,the noise was as loud as the bursting of the mundane-egg1 and the hurling down of a large edifice2 and as the dashing of the waves against one another1 in a furiously raging sea4 #g4 ,the loud peal resounding through the air and water1 and reechoing amidst the city towers1 was deafening and stunning to the ear2 and the swelling at the tops of mountains1 filled the world with uproar4 #h4 ,the sound swelling as it were1 in the conch-shell of the mundane-egg1 was returned with triple clangor1 from the vaults of heaven and sky and the infernal world4 #i4 ,the supports of all the distant sides1 were tottering at their base2 and the waters of all the seas were mixed up together1 as if to quench the thirst of the all devouring doomsday4 #aj4 ,the doomsday advanced as the ,god ,indra1 mounted on the back of his elephantine clouds2 which roared aloud amidst the waters1 contained in the etherial ocean from the beginning4 #aa4 ,the great doomsday was attended with a hubbub1 as loud as that of the churning of the ocean before2 or as that emitted by the revolving world or a hydrostatic engine of immense force4 #ab4 ,hearing this roaring of the clouds1 amidst the surrounding fires1 ,i became quite astonished at the stridor1 and cast my eyes on all sides to see the clouds4 #ac4 ,i saw no vestige of a cloud in any part of the heavens1 except that of hearing their roar and finding flashes of firebrands flaming in the sky1 with showers of thunderbolts falling from above4 7i4e4 ,it was a thunderstorm preceding the rain74 #ad4 ,the flaming fire spread over millions of miles1 on all the sides of earth and heaven2 and burnt away every thing in them1 to a horrid devastation4 #ae4 ,after a little while ,i descried a spot at a great distance in the sky2 and felt a cool air blowing to my body from it4 #af4 ,at this time ,i observed the ,kalpa clouds1 appearing and gathering at a great distance in the sky1 where there was no relic of the living fire perceptible to the naked eye4 #ag4 ,then there breathed the ,kalpa airs1 from the watery corner or western side of the sky2 which burnt at last in blasts1 capable of blowing and bearing away the great mountains of ,meru1 ,malaya and ,himlaya4 #ah4 ,these winds blew away the mountainous flames1 and put to flight the burning cinders as birds to a distance2 they bore down the spreading sparks1 and drove away the fire from all sides4 #ai4 ,the clouds of fire disappeared from the air1 as evening clouds2 then clouds of ashes rose to the sky1 and the atmosphere was cleared of every particle of fire4 #bj4 ,the air was blowing with fire1 and passing every where as the fire of incendiarism2 and melted down the golden citadels on the flying mountain of ,meru4 #ba4 ,the mountains on earth being put on fire1 their flames spread all about as the rays of the twelve suns4 #bb4 ,the waters of oceans were boiling with rage1 and the trees and leaves of the forest were burning with blaze4 #bc4 ,the cities and celestials sitting on their happy seats1 in the highest heaven of ,brahm1 fell down below with all their inhabitants of women and young and old people1 being burnt by the flames4 #bd4 ,the ,kalpnta or chaotic fire was mixed with the water1 in the lake of ,brahm4 #be4 ,the strong winds uprooted the deep rooted mountains and rocks1 and plunged them headlong into the fiery mire of the infernal regions4 #bf4 ,the chaotic clouds advanced as a troop of sable camels1 moving slowly in the azure sky with a grumbling noise4 #bg4 ,they appeared from a corner of the sky1 like a huge mountain flashing with lightnings of gorgeous flame2 and fraught with the waters of the seven oceans4 #bh4 ,these clouds were capable of rending the great vault of the world 7heaven71 with their loud uproar2 and splitting all the sides of heaven1 standing upon their solid snow white and impregnable walls4 #bi4 ,the doomsday was as the raging ocean1 and the planets were the rolling islands in the whirlpools of their orbits2 the flitting lightnings likened its shifting aquatic animals1 and the roaring of the clouds was as the howling of its waters4 #cj4 ,the moon being devoured by ,rhu1 and burnt away by the fiery comet1 rose to heaven again and assumed the colder form of the cloud1 to pour down more moisture than her nightly beams and dews4 #ca4 ,lightning like golden sphere in the shape of frigidity of the sort of ,himalaya1 held all stupefied waters1 woods and hills4 #cb4 ,after the clouds had split the vault of heaven1 by their harsh crackling and thunders2 they dropped down the solid snows at first1 which were then melted down in the form of liquid rain4 #cc4 ,there was a jarring of dissonant sounds1 that grated upon the ear1 and proceeded from the bursting of woods by wild fire1 and the stridor of thunder-claps in the rebellowing air2 and the cracking and crackling and dashing and crashing of every thing in the shattering world4 #cd4 ,there was a sharp and shrill noise1 arising from the warring winds blowing in a hundred ways1 and the drift of bleak cold showers of driving snows1 covering the face of heaven4 #ce4 ,the vault of heaven which is supported by the blue and sapphire-like pillars of the azure skies on all sides1 shattered the earth and its props of the mountains1 with big and heavy showers of diluvian rain4 #cf4 ,the earth was bursting and splitting sound1 by the blazing furnaces of fire on all sides2 and the hearts of all living beings1 were rent by the loud rattling of thunderbolts from heaven4 #cg4 ,the rain that reigned long over the realm of the fiery earth1 was now going upward in the form of smoke1 which the burning earth heaved from her bosom1 as her sighs towards heaven4 #ch4 ,now the vault of heaven1 appeared to be overspread with a network1 studded with red lotuses of the flying fires on high2 while the dark showers had the appearance of swarms of black bees1 and the rain drops likened their fluttering wings4 #ci4 ,all the sides of heaven resounded to the mingled clatter of hailstone and fire brands1 falling down simultaneously from the comingled clouds of dire and dreadful appearance2 and the scene all around was as diresome to behold1 as the mingled warfare of two dreadful forces1 with dire arms and commingled bloodshed4 ,,chapter ,,lxxvii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,overflooded ,,by ,,the ,,rains4 ,argument3--,the world presenting the scene of one universal sheet of water caused by the deluging clouds4 ,vasishtha continued3--,hear now of the chaotic state of the world1 which was brought on by conflict of the earth1 air1 water1 and fire with one another2 and how the three worlds were covered under the great diluvian waters4 #b4 ,the dark clouds flying in the air as pitchy ashes1 overspread the world as a great ocean1 with whirlpools of rolling smoke4 #c4 ,the dark blaze of the fire glimmered amidst the combustibles1 and converted all of them to heaps of ashes1 which flew and spread over all the world4 #d4 ,the swelling sound of the hissing showers rose as high1 as they were blowing aloud the whistle of their victory4 #e4 ,there was the assemblage of all the five kinds of clouds and all of them pouring their waters in profusion upon the ground2 these were the ashy clouds1 the grey clouds1 the kalpa clouds1 and the misty and the showering clouds4 #f4 ,the howling breezes1 tottered the foundations of the world2 the high wind rose high to heaven1 and filled all space2 and bore the flames to burn down the regencies of the gods on every side4 #g4 ,the winds dived deep into the depths of water1 and bore and dispersed their frigidity to all sides of the airs1 which numbed the senses1 and deafened the ears of all 7by their coldness74 #h4 ,a loud hubbub filled the world1 raised by the incessant fall of rain in columns from the vault of heaven2 and by the roaring and growling of the kalpa fire4 #i4 ,the whole earth was filled with water as one ocean1 by waterfalls from the clouds of heaven1 resembling the torrents of ,ganges and the currents of all rivers4 #aj4 ,the canopy of the kalpa or diluvian clouds1 pierced by the shining sun-beams above them1 appeared as the leafy tuft at the top of the nigrescent tamla tree1 with clusters of lurid flowers1 peeping through the sable leaves4 #aa4 ,the all destroying tornado bore away the broken fragments1 of trees and rocks1 and the top of towers and castles aloft in the air2 dashed them against the skycapt mountains1 and broke them asunder to pieces4 #ab4 ,the swift stars and planets1 clashing with the rapid comets and meteors1 struck sparks of fire and flame by their mutual concussion1 which burned about as igneous whirlpools in the air4 #ac4 ,the raging and rapid winds1 raised the waves of seas1 as high as mountains2 which striking against the rocks on the sea-shore1 broke and hurled them down with tremendous noise4 #ad4 ,the deep dusty and showering clouds1 joined with the wet kalpa clouds1 cast into shade the bright light of the sun2 and darkened the air under their sable shadows4 #ae4 ,the seas over flowed their beds and banks1 and bore down the broken fragments of the rocks under their bowels2 and they became dreadful and dangerous by the falling and rolling down of the stones with their current4 #af4 ,the huge surges of the sea1 bearing the fragments of the rocks in their bosom1 were raised aloft by the cloud rending winds2 and they dashed against and broke down the shores with deep and tremendous noise4 #ag4 ,the diluvian cloud then broke asunder the vault of heaven1 and split the bosom of the sky with its loud rattling2 and then clapped together its oaklike hands1 to see the universal ocean which it had made4 #ah4 ,the earth1 heaven and infernal regions1 were rent to pieces1 and tossed and loosed in the all devouring waters2 and the whole nature was reduced to its original vacuity1 as if the world was an unpeopled and vast desert4 #ai4 ,now the dead and half dead1 the burnt and half burnt bodies1 of gods and demigods1 of ,gandharvas and men beheld one another in the general ruin1 and fled and fell upon each other with their lifted arms and weapons1 with the velocity of the winds4 7,it is a dogma of spiritualism1 that tribal and personal animosities c41 continue to the death bed and in after life1 if there is no reconciliation made in the present state74 #bj4 ,the diluvian winds1 were flying as the funeral ashes from the piles2 or as the arjuna humour of choler1 drives a person up and down in the air like a column of ashes4 #ba4 ,the heaps of stones that were collected in the air1 fell forcibly on the ground1 and broke down whatever they struck upon2 just as the falling hailstones from heaven1 clatter out of season1 and shatter every thing wherever they fall4 #bb4 ,the rustling breezes howling in the caverns of mountains1 resounded with a rumbling noise from the fall of the mansions of the regents of every side4 #bc4 ,the winds growled with harsh sounds1 resembling the jarring noise of demons2 and these blowing amidst the woods1 appeared to be passing through the windows4 #bd4 ,the cities and towns burning with the demoniac fire1 and the mountains and abodes of the gods1 flaming with solar gleams1 and their sparks in the air1 flying like swarms of gnats4 #be4 ,the sea was roaring with its whirling rain waters on the surface1 and boiling with the submarine fire below2 and destroying alike both the big mountains below1 as also the abodes of the gods above4 #bf4 ,the conflict of the waters and rocks1 demolished the cities of the rulers of earth on all sides2 and hurled down the abodes of the deities and demons1 and of the siddhas and gandharvas also4 #bg4 ,the stones and all solid substances were pounded to powder1 and the fire-brands were reduced to ashes3 when the flying winds blew them as dust all about4 #bh4 ,the hurling down of the abodes of gods and demons1 and the dashing together of their walls emitted a noise as that of the crashing of clouds1 or gingling of metallic things in mutual contact4 #bi4 ,the sky was filled with peoples and edifices1 falling from the seven regions of heaven2 and the gods themselves were whirling in air1 as anything fallen in a whirlpool in the sea4 #cj4 ,all things whether burnt or unburnt1 were swimming up and down in the etherial ocean1 as the winds toss about the dry leaves of trees in the air4 #ca4 ,the air was filled with the jarring and gingling sounds1 rising from the fallen edifices of various metals and minerals in all worlds4 #cb4 ,then the smoky and ashy clouds all flew upward1 while the heavy watery clouds lowered upon the earth2 again the swelling billows were rising high upon the water1 and the hills and all other substances were sinking below4 #cc4 ,the whirlpools were wheeling against one another1 with gurgling noise1 and the old ocean was rolling on with gigantic mountains1 floating upon it like groups of leaves and shrubs4 #cd4 ,the good deities were wailing aloud1 and the weary animals were moving on slowly2 the comets and other portents were flying in the air1 and the aspect of the universe1 was dreadful and diresome to behold4 #ce4 ,the sky was full of dead and half dead bodies1 borne by the breezes into its bosom2 and it presented a grey and dingy appearance1 as that of the dry and discoloured foliage of trees 7in the fading autumn74 #cf4 ,the world was full of water1 falling in profuse showers from the mountain peaks2 and hundreds of streams flowed down by the sides of mountains1 and were borne all about by the breeze4 #cg4 ,the fire now ceased to rage with its hundred flames1 and the swelling sea now run over its boundary hills2 and over flowed its banks4 #ch4 ,mass of gramineous plant mixed with mud and mire1 appeared as large island2 and intellect in the far distant vacuity1 appeared as lighting over a forest4 #ci4 ,the rains closing extinguished the fire1 but the rising fume and smoke filled the air and hid the heaven1 so that the existence of the prior world and the former creation was altogether forgotten from remembrance4 #dj4 ,then there rose the loud cry of the extinction of creation1 and there remained only the ,one being1 who is exempt from creation and destruction 7i4e4 who is increate and imperishable74 #da4 ,now the winds abated also1 that had been incessantly struggling to upset the world2 and continually filling the universe with their particles1 as with an unceasing supply of grains4 #db4 ,the bodies of comets clashing against one another1 were reduced to sparks of fire resembling the dust of gold2 and these extinguishing at last to ashes1 filled the vault of heaven with powdered dust4 #dc4 ,the orb of the earth being shattered to pieces1 with all its contents of islands c41 was rolling in large masses together with the fragments of the infernal worlds4 #dd4 ,now the seven regions of heaven and those of the infernal worlds1 being mixed up in one mass with the shattered mass of the earth and its mountains1 filled up the universal space with the chaotic waters and diluvian winds4 #de4 ,then the universal ocean1 was swollen with the waters of all its tributary seas and rivers2 and there was a loud uproar of the rolling waters1 resembling the clamour of the enraged madman4 #df4 ,the rain fell at first in the form of fountains and cascades1 and then it assumed the shape of falling columns or water spouts2 at last it took the figure of a palm tree1 and then it poured down its showers in torrents4 #dg4 ,then it ran as the current of a river1 and flooded and overflowed on all sides2 and the raining clouds made the surface of the earth one extended sheet of water4 #dh4 ,the flamefire was seen to subside at last1 just as some very great danger in human life1 is averted by observance of the precautions given in the sstras1 and advice of the wise4 #di4 ,at last the vast vault of the mundane world1 became as desolate of all its contents and submerged in water2 as a goodly bel fruit loses its substance by being tossed about in playful mood from the hands of boys4 ,,chapter ,,lxxviii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,universal ,,ocean4 ,argument3--,rain waters running as rivers1 and these meeting together and making an universal ocean4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the rain storm and falling hails and snows1 shattered the surface of the earth to parts and parcels2 and the violence of the waters was increasing1 like the oppression of kings in ,kali or last days of the world4 #b4 ,the rain water falling upon the stream of the etherial ,ganges1 make it run in a thousand streamlets1 flowing with huge torrents1 higher than the mountains of ,meru and ,mandara4 #c4 ,here the waves rose to the path of the sun1 and there the waters sank down and lay dull in the mountain caves2 and then the dull element made the universal ocean1 as when a fool is made the soveran lord of earth4 #d4 ,the great mountains were hurled down as straws1 in the deep and broad whirlpools of water2 and the tops of the huge surges1 reached to the far distant sphere of the sun4 #e4 ,the great mountains of ,meru and ,mandara of ,vindhya1 ,sahya and ,kailsa1 dived and moved in as fishes and sea monsters2 the melted earth set as its soil1 and large snakes floated thereon like stalks of plant with their lotus like hoods4 #f4 ,the half burnt woods and floating plants1 were as its moss and bushes1 and the wet ashes of the burnt world1 were as the dirty mud underneath the waters4 #g4 ,the twelve suns shone forth1 as so many fullblown lotuses1 in the large lake of the sky2 and the huge and heavy cloud of ,puskara1 with its dark showers of rain1 seemed as the blue lotus bed1 filled with the sable leaves4 #h4 ,the raging clouds roared aloud from the sides of mountains1 like the foaming waves of the ocean2 and the sun and moon rolled like two pieces of sapphires over cities and towns 7being darkened by the clouds74 #i4 ,the gods and giants and people at large1 were blown up and borne into the air2 till at last they flew up from their lightness and fell into the disc of the sun4 7i4e4 ,from their want of gravity on earth1 they were attracted to the sun--the centre of gravity of the solar system74 #aj4 ,the clouds rained in torrents with loud clattering noise1 and their currents carried down the floating rocks1 as if they were mere bubbles of water1 into the distant sea4 #aa4 ,the deluging clouds were rolling in the air1 after pouring their water in floods on earth2 as if they were in search after other clouds1 with their open mouths and eyes 7as if to see whether there remained any raining cloud still74 #ab4 ,the rushing tornado filled the air with uproar1 and with one gust of wind1 blasted the boundary mountain from its bottom into the air4 7,so were the mountainous clouds1 flung by the hands of ,titans to the skies74 #ac4 ,the furious winds collected the waters of the deep to the height of mountains2 which ran with a great gurgling noise all about1 in order to deluge the earth under them4 #ad4 ,the world was torn to pieces by the clashing of bodies1 driven together by the tempestuous winds2 which scattered and drove millions of beings pell-mell1 and over against one another4 #ae4 ,the hills floated on the waves as straws1 and dashing against the disc of the sun1 broke it into pieces as by the pelting of stones4 #af4 ,the great void of the universe1 spread as it were1 the great net of waters in its ample space1 and caught in them the great hills1 resembling the big eels caught in fishing nets4 #ag4 ,the big animal bodies that were rising or plunging in the deep1 either as living or dead described the eddies made by whirlpools and whales on the surface of the waters 7i4e4 the one sinking downwards1 and the other rising upward74 #ah4 ,those that have been yet alive1 were floating about the tops of the sinking mountains1 which resembled the floating froths of the sea2 while the gods were fluttering as gnats and flies over them4 #ai4 ,the spacious firmament on high1 filled with innumerable rain drops1 shining as bubbles of water in the air2 appeared as the thousand eyes of ,indra1 looking on the rains below4 #bj4 ,indra the god of heaven1 with his body of the autumnal sky1 and his eyes of the bubbling raindrops2 was looking on the floating clouds in the midway skies1 flowing as the currents of rivers on high4 #ba4 ,the ,pushkara and ,avartaka clouds with their world overflowing floods2 met and joined together in mutual embrace1 as two winged mountains flying in air1 and clashing against one another4 #bb4 ,these clouds being at last satisfied with their devouring the world1 under their all swallowing waters2 were now roaring loudly and flying lightly in the air1 as if they were dancing with their uplifted hilly arms4 #bc4 ,the clouds were pouring forth their floods of water above1 and the mountain tops were flaming in the midway sky2 and the huge snakes that had supported the earth1 were now diving deep into the mud of the infernal regions 7owing to the destruction of the earth74 #bd4 ,the incessant showers filled the three regions1 like the triple stream of ,ganges running in three directions2 they drowned the highest mountains1 whose tops floated as froths in the universal ocean4 #be4 ,the floating mountains struck against the sphere of heaven1 and broke it into fragments2 when the fairies of heaven1 floated as pretty lotuses on the surface of waters4 #bf4 ,the universe was reduced to an universal ocean1 which roared with a tremendous noise2 and the three worlds being split to pieces1 were borne away into the waters of the endless deep4 #bg4 ,there remained no one to save another1 nor any one that was not swept away by the flood2 for who is there that can save us1 when the all devouring time grasps us in his clutches4 #bh4 ,there remained neither the sky nor the horizon1 there was no upside nor downward in the infinite space2 there was no creation nor a creature any where1 but all were submerged under one infinite sheet of water4 ,,chapter ,,lxxix4 ,,maintenance ,,of ,,inappetency ,,or ,,want ,,of ,,desire4 ,argument3--,nirvna-,extinction ,compared with ,waking from the ,dream of ,existence4 ,vasishtha resumed3--,seeing the end of all ,i still retained my seat in infinite vacuity2 and my eyes were detained by the sight of a glorious light1 shining as the morning rays of the rising luminary of the day4 #b4 ,while ,i was looking at that light1 ,i beheld the great ,brahm sitting as a statue carved in stone1 intent upon his meditation of supreme ,one1 and beset by his transcendent glory all about him4 #c4 ,i saw there a multitude of gods1 sages and holy personages1 with ,vrihaspati and ,sukra--the preceptors of gods and demigods1 together with the regent deities of wealth and death4 #d4 ,there were likewise the regent divinities of water1 fire and the other deities also2 so were there companies of rishis and siddhas and sdhyas1 gandharvas and others4 #e4 ,all these were as figures in painting1 and all sitting in their meditative mood2 they all sat in their lotiform posture1 and appeared as lifeless and immovable bodies4 #f4 ,then the twelve dityas or suns 7of the twelve signs71 met at the same centre 7with the same object in their view72 and they sat in the same lotiform posture 7of devotion1 as the other deities74 #g4 ,then awhile after1 ,i beheld the lotus born ,brahm2 as if ,i came to see the object of my dream before me after my waking4 #h4 ,i then lost the sight of the deities1 assembled in the ,brahma-loka or in the world of ,brahm1 as when great minded men1 lose the sight of the most prominent objects of their desire from their minds4 ,nor did ,i perceive the aerial city of my dream before me1 upon my waking 7from the trance of my illusion74 #i4 ,then the whole creation1 which is but the ectype of the mind of ,brahm2 appeared as void as an empty desert to me2 and as the earth turning to a barrenwaste upon the ruin of its cities4 #aj4 ,the gods and sages1 the angels and all other beings1 were no where to be seen any more2 but were all blended in and with the same void every where4 #aa4 ,i then seated in my etherial seat1 came to know by my percipience1 that all of them have become extinct 7lit4 obtained their nirvna extinction1 like ,brahm in ,brahma himself74 #ab4 ,it is with the extinction of their desires1 that they have become extinct also2 as the sleeping dreamers come to themselves after they are awakened from their illusive vision4 7,coming to one's self ,swasiarpa one's own nature or essence1 means in vednta1 the holy and pure nature of the human soul1 as an emanation or image of the divine74 #ac4 ,the body is an aerial nothing1 appearing as a substantial something1 from our desire 7or imagination of it only71 and disappearing with the privation of our fancy for it1 like a dream vanishing from the sight of a waking man4 #ad4 ,the aerial body appears as real as any other image in our dream2 and there remains nothing of it1 upon our coming to their knowledge of its unreal nature1 and the vanity of our desires4 #ae4 ,we have no consciousness also1 of either our spiritual or corporeal bodies1 when we are fixed in our samdhi or intense meditation in the state of our waking 7from sleep74 #af4 ,the notion of a thing seen in our dream1 is given here as an instance 7to prove the unreality of our idea of the body72 because it is well known to boys and every body1 and adduced to us both in the srutis and smritis tradition 7that the objects of sight1 are as false as those of dreams74 #ag4 ,whoever denies the falsity of the notions he has in his dream1 and goes on to support the reality of these as well as other visible sights2 must be a great impostor2 and such a one deserves to be shunned1 for who can wake the waking sleeper4 #ah4 ,what is the cause of the corporeal body8 ,not the dream2 since the bodies seen in a dream1 are invisible 7to the naked eye72 and this being true it follows1 that there is no solid body in the next world 7as it is expected by means of sacrifices and pious acts74 #ai4 ,should there be other bodies after the loss of the present ones 7by death72 then there would be no need of repeated creation 7of corporeal bodies by ,brahm72 if the pristine bodies were to continue for ever4 #bj4 ,anything having a form and figure and its parts and members1 is of course perishable in its nature2 and the position 7of ,jaimini71 that there was another kind of world before1 is likewise untenable 7since there could be nothing at any time1 without its definite form and parts74 #ba4 ,if you say 7in the manner of the chrvkas71 that the world was never destroyed2 and that the understanding is produced of itself in the body1 in the same manner as the spirit is generated in the fermented liquor4 #bb4 ,this position of yours is inconsistent with the doctrines1 of the purnas and histories as well as those of the vedas1 smritis and other sstras1 which invariably maintain destructibility of material things4 #bc4 ,should you1 ,o intelligent ,rma1 deny with the chrvkas the indefeasibility of these sstras2 say what faith can be relied on those heretical teachings1 which are as false as the offspring of a barren woman4 #bd4 ,these heretical doctrines are not favoured by the wise1 owing to their pernicious tendencies2 there are many discrepancies in them1 as you shall have it1 from the few that ,i am going to point out to you4 #be4 ,if you say the human spirit to liken the spirit of liquors1 7which is generated in and destroyed with the liquor72 then tell me what makes the destroyed or departed spirit of a deceased person1 who is dead in a foreign country1 revisit his friends at home in the shape and form of a fiend 7pischa74 #bf4 ,to this it is answered1 that the apparition which thus appears to view is a false appearance only2 granting it as such1 why not own our appearances to be equally false also8 #bg4 ,it being so1 how can you believe the bodies1 that the departed souls of men are said in the sstras1 to assume in the next world1 to be true also8 7,any more than their being mere apparitions only74 #bh4 ,there is no truth in the proof of a ghost 7pischa71 as there is in that of the spirit in liquor2 hence if the supposition of the former is untrue1 what faith is there in future body in the next world8 #bi4 ,if the existence of spirits be granted1 from the common belief of mankind in them2 then why should not the doctrine of a future state of the dead1 be received as true upon the testimony of the sstras8 #cj4 ,if the prepossession of a person's being possessed on a sudden by an evil spirit1 be any ground of his reliance in it1 why then should he not rest his belief in his future state1 wherein he is confirmed by the dogmas of the sstras8 #ca4 ,whatever a man thinks or knows in himself1 he supposes the same as true at all times2 and whether his persuasion be right or wrong1 he knows it correct to the best of his belief4 #cb4 ,a man knowing well1 that the dead are to live again in another world1 relies himself fully upon that hope2 and does not care to know1 whether he shall have a real body there or not4 #cc4 ,therefore it is the nature of men1 to be prepossessed with the idea of their future existence2 and next their growing desire for having certain forms of bodies for themselves1 leads them to the error of seeing several shapes before them4 #cd4 ,it is then the abstaining from this desire1 that removes the maladies of our errors of the looker1 looking and the look 7i4e4 of the subjective and the objective72 while the retaining of this desire leads us1 to the viewing of this apparition of the world ever before us4 #ce4 ,so it was the feeling of desire at first1 which led the supreme spirit of ,brahm to the creation of the world2 but its abandonment causes our nirvna-release1 while its retention leads us to the error of the world4 #cf4 ,this desire sprang at first in the ,divine mind of ,brahm1 and not in the immutable spirit of ,brahma2 and ,i feel this desire rising now in me1 for seeing the true and supreme ,brahma in all and every where4 #cg4 ,all these knowledge that you derive here from1 is said to form what is called the nirvna-extinction by the wise2 and that which is not learnt herein1 is said to constitute the bondage of the world4 #ch4 ,this is the true knowledge to see ,god every where1 it is self-evident in our inmost soul1 and does not shine without it2 7for all without is error and ignorance--avidy74 #ci4 ,the self-consciousness of our liberation--muktsmi1 is what really makes us so2 but the knowledge that we are bound to this earth--baddhsmi1 is the source of all our woe1 which require great pains to be removed4 #dj4 ,the awakening of our consciousness of the world1 is the cause of our being enslaved to it2 and its hybernation in the trance of samdhi1 is our highest felicity4 ,by being awake to the concerns of the world1 you only find the unreal appearing as real to you 7for every thing here1 is but deception and delusion74 #da4 ,lying dormant in holy trance1 without the torpidity of insensibility1 is termed our moksha or spiritual liberation2 while our wakefulness to the outer world1 is said to be the state of our bondage to it4 #db4 ,now let your nirvna be devoid of all desire1 and from trouble1 care and fear2 let it be a clear and continuous revery without any gap or cessation1 without the scruples of unity and duality2 and be of the form of spacious firmament1 ever calm and clear and undisturbed in itself4 ,,chapter ,,lxxx4 ,,the ,,world ,,proved ,,to ,,be ,a ,,delusion4 ,argument3--,description of ultimate ,dissolution according to ,rational and ,materialistic ,philosophy4 ,vasishtha continued3--,afterwards the celestials that were present in the heaven of ,brahm1 vanished away and became invisible1 as a lamp with its weakened 7i4e4 burnt out71 wick or thread4 #b4 ,now the twelve suns1 having disappeared in the body of ,brahm2 their burning beams burnt away the heaven of ,brahm1 as they had burnt down the earth and other bodies4 #c4 ,having consumed the seat and abode of ,brahm1 they fell into the meditation of the supreme ,brahma1 and became extinct in him like ,brahm1 as when a lamp is extinguished for the want of its oil4 #d4 ,then the waters of the universal ocean1 invaded the celestial city of ,brahm1 and over flooded its surface1 as the shade of night fills the face of the earth darkness4 #e4 ,now the whole world was filled by water1 from the highest seat of ,brahm1 to the lowest pit of hell2 and became as full with that liquid1 as a grape is swollen with its juice1 when it is perfectly ripe 7i4e4 cold and darkness filled the place1 where there was no heat or light74 #f4 ,the waving waters rising as mountain tops1 plied with the flying birds of air2 and washed the seats and feet of the gods hovering over them4 ,they touched the kalpa or diluvian clouds1 which deluged over them4 #g4 ,in the meantime ,i beheld from my aerial seat1 something of a dreadful appearance in the midst of the skies1 which horrified me altogether4 #h4 ,it was of the form of deep and dark chaos1 and embraced the whole space of the sky in its grasp and appeared as the accumulation of the gloom of night1 from the beginning to the end of creation4 #i4 ,this dark form radiated the bright beams2 of millions of morning suns1 and was as resplendent as three suns together2 and as the flashing of many steady lightnings at once4 #aj4 ,its eyes were dazzling and its countenance flashed with the blaze of a burning furnace1 it had five faces and three eyes2 its hands were ten in number1 and each of them held a trident of immense size4 #aa4 ,it appeared manifest before me1 with its outstretched body in the air2 and stood transfixed in the sky1 as a huge black cloud extending all over the atmosphere4 #ab4 ,it remained in the visible horizon1 below and out of the universal ocean of waters2 and yet the position and features of the hands and feet and other members of its body1 were but indistinctly marked in the sky4 #ac4 ,the breath of its nostrils1 agitated the waters of the universal ocean2 as the arms of ,govinda or ,hari churned of yore the milky ocean 7after the great deluge74 #ad4 ,then there arose from the diluvian waters1 a male being called afterwards the first male 7dipurusha74 ,he was the personification of the collective ego1 and the causeless cause of all4 #ae4 ,he rose out of the ocean1 as a huge mountainous rock2 and then flew into the air with his big flapping wings1 extending over and enclosing the whole space of infinite vacuity4 #af4 ,i knew him from a distance1 and by the indications of his triple eyes and trident1 to be the ,lord ,rudra himself2 and then bowed down to him1 as the great ,god of all4 #ag4 ,rma asked3--,why sir1 was the ,lord ,rudra of that form1 why was he of such gigantic form and of so dark a complexion8 ,why had ,he ten arms and hands1 and why had ,he the five faces and mouths upon his body8 #ah4 ,why had he his three eyes1 and so fierce a form2 was he absolute in himself or delegated by any other8 ,what was his errand and his act2 and was it a mere shadow or having a shadow 7helpmate7 of its substance 7i4e4 mya or ,illusion78 #ai4 ,vasishtha replied3--,this being is named ,rudra or fierce1 for his being the aggregate of ,egoism4 ,he is full of his self-pride1 and the form in which ,i beheld him1 was that of a clear vacuity4 #bj4 ,this lord was of the form of vacuum1 and of the hue and resplendence of vacuity2 and it is on account of his being the essence of the vacuous intellect1 that he is represented as the cerulean sky4 #ba4 ,being the soul of all beings1 and being present in all places1 he is represented in his gigantic form2 as his five faces1 serve as representations of his five internal organs of sense4 #bb4 ,the external organs of sense 7together with their objects and faculties71 and the five members of his body1 are represented by his ten arms on both sides of his body4 #bc4 ,this ,lord of creation together with all living bodies and mankind1 are resorbed in the supreme ,one at the final dissolution of the world2 and when he is let out to pass from the unity1 he then appears in this form4 #bd4 ,he is but a part of the eternal soul1 and has no visible body or form of his own2 but is thought of in the said form by the erroneous conception of men4 #be4 ,having proceeded from the vacuum of the ,intellect1 the lord ,rudra is posited in the material vacuum or firmament2 and has his residence also in the bodies of living beings in the form of air 7or vital breath74 #bf4 ,the aeriform ,rudra comes to be exhausted in course of time1 and then by forsaking the animated bodies1 he returns to resort to the reservoir of eternal rest and peace4 #bg4 ,the three qualities1 the three times1 the three intellectual faculties of the mind1 understanding and egoism2 the three vedas1 and the three letters of the sacred syllable of om1 are the three eyes of ,rudra4 #bh4 ,the trident of ,rudra is the symbol of his sceptre1 and it is held in his hand1 to imply his having the dominion of the three worlds under his hold4 #bi4 ,he is represented as having a living body and soul1 to indicate his being the personality and personification of the egoism of all living beings1 and that there is no living body apart from himself4 #cj4 ,it is his nature and business1 to provide to all living creatures1 according to their wants and desert2 and is therefore manifested in the form of ,siva1 which is the divine ,intellect in the form of air4 #ca4 ,this ,lord having at last destroyed and devoured the whole creation1 rests himself in perfect peace1 and becomes of the form of pure air and of the blue firmament4 #cb4 ,after affecting the destruction of the world1 he drinks down and drenches up the universal ocean2 and then being quite satiate1 he rests himself in perfect peace and inaction4 #cc4 ,afterwards as ,i beheld him drawing the waters of the ocean into his nostrils1 by the force of his breath4 #cd4 ,i saw a flame of fire flashing out from his mouth1 and thought it to be the flash of the latent fire of the water1 which was drawn in him1 by the breath of his nostrils4 #ce4 ,rudra the personified ,ego1 remains in the form of latent heat in the submarine fire2 and continues to suck up the waters of the ocean1 until the end of a kalpa epoch4 #cf4 ,the waters then enter into the infernal regions1 as snakes enter in the holes beneath the ground2 and the diluvian winds entered into his mouth1 in the form of the five vital airs2 just as the winds of heaven have their recess in hollow sky4 #cg4 ,the lord ,rudra then goes on to swallow and suck up the marine waters1 as the bright sunlight swallows the gloom of the dark fortnight4 #ch4 ,there appears at last a calm and quiet vacuity as the azure sky1 and resembling the wide ocean filled with flying dust and smoke2 and devoid of any being or created thing1 and stretching from the ,empyrean of ,god to the lowest abyss or infernum4 #ci4 ,i described amidst it four different spheres of empty void1 bearing no vestige of anything moving or stirring in them4 ,listen to me1 ,o son of ,raghu1 and you will hear what they were4 #dj4 ,one of these lay in the midst of the air1 and was sustained in it without any prop or support like the particles of fragrance floating in the air4 ,this was ,rudra of the form of the azure sky4 #da4 ,the second was lying afar1 and appeared as the concavity of the sky over this earth2 it was a part of the mundane system and below the seven spheres of the infernal regions4 #db4 ,the third was a region above the mundane sphere1 and was invisible to the naked eye1 owing to its great distance beyond the azure sky4 #dc4 ,then there was the surface of the earth1 with its lower hemisphere of the watery regions2 it was traversed by the great mountain which was the seat of gods--the ,himlayas2 and beset by islands1 and sea-girt sands and shores4 #dd4 ,there is another sphere1 lying at the furthest distance from the other circles of the world2 and comprises the infinite space of vacuum1 which extends unlimited like the unbounded and transparent spirit of ,god4 #de4 ,this was the remotest sphere of heavens1 that could be observed by me2 and there was nothing else observable on any side1 beside and beyond the limits of these four spheres or circles4 #df4 ,rma interrogated1 saying3--,i ask you to tell me1 ,o venerable sir2 whether there is any sphere or space1 beyond what is contained in the mind of ,brahm2 then tell me what and how many of them are there1 what are their boundaries1 and how are they situated1 and to what end and purpose4 #dg4 ,vasishtha replied3--,know ,rma1 that there are ten other spheres beyond this world 7and each of them ten times greater that the preceding one74 ,of these the first is the sphere of water1 lying beyond the two parts 7or continents7 of the earth4 ,it is ten times greater than the land which it covers1 as the shadow of evening overspreads the sky4 #dh4 ,beyond that is the sphere of heat1 which is ten times greater in its extent than that of water2 and afar from this is the region of the winds1 whose circle is ten times larger than that of solar heat and light4 #di4 ,next to these is the sphere of air1 which is ten times as wide as the circuits of the winds2 ,it is the highest sphere of transparent air1 and is said to comprise the infinite vacuity of the divine spirit4 #ej4 ,afar and aloft from these1 there are some other spheres also1 whose circles extend to the distance of ten times above one another in the vast infinity of space4#b #ea4 ,rma said3--,tell me1 ,o chief of sages1 who is it that upholds the water of the deep below1 and supports the air of the firmament above the world2 and in what manner they are held aloof4 #eb4 ,vasishtha replied3--,all earthly things are upheld by the earth1 as the waters support the leaves of lotuses upon it2 and every part depends upon the whole1 as a babe depends upon its mother 7or as the young of an ape1 clings to the breast of its dam1 and never falls off from it74 #ec4 ,hence everything runs to1 and is attracted by whatever is larger than it1 and situated nearer to it than others2 just as the thirsty man runs to1 and is attracted by the adjacent water4 7,here we find the discovery of the theory of attraction1 some thousands of years before it was discovered by ,newton1 and known to moderns74 #ed4 ,so all metallic and other bodies1 depend upon the close union of their parts1 which being joined together1 are as inseparable from one another1 as the limbs and members of a person are attached to the main body4 #ee4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 how do the parts of the world subsist together2 in what manner they are joined with one another1 and how are they disjoined from one another1 and destroyed at last4 #ef4 ,vasishtha replied3--,whether the world is supported by some one or not1 and whether it remains fixed 7by attraction7 or falls off 7by its gravity72 it is in reality an unsubstantial form1 like that of a city in a dream4 #eg4 ,what is it falls away or remains fixed on some support1 it is viewed in the same manner1 as our consciousness represents it unto us4 #eh4 ,the world is contained in and represented by the intellect1 in the same manner1 as the wind is contained in and let out of air2 and as the sky presents the blueness of the firmament1 and other airy appearances4 #ei4 ,these habitable worlds forming the universe1 are but imaginary cities and creations of the ,intellect2 they are but airy representations of the airy mind1 as the formless sky is represented in empty vacuity1 and appearing in various forms unto us4 #fj4 ,as it is the nature of our ,intellect1 to give many things to our consciousness1 so it is its nature also1 to make us unconscious of their disappearance by day and night4 #fa4 ,an innumerable train of thoughts1 are incessantly employing our minds when we are sitting and at rest2 and so they are flying off and returning to us by day and night4 #fb4 ,all things appear to approach to their dissolution1 to one who knows their destructibility and their ultimate extinction at the end of a kalpa period or millennium2 and they seem as ever growing to one1 who is conversant with their growth only in the vacuity of the mind4 #fc4 ,all our thoughts appear in the vacuum of our minds1 as the vaporous chains of pearls are seen in the autumn sky2 they are both as erroneous and fleeting as the other1 and yet they press so very thick and quick on our sight and minds1 that there is no reckoning of them4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxi4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,last ,,night ,,of ,,death ,,or ,,general ,,doom4 ,argument3--,rudra dancing as ,bhairava on the last day1 in company with his shadow the last night4 ,vasishtha related3--,i beheld afterwards1 ,o ,rma6 the same ,rudra standing in the same firmament1 and dancing with a hideous form in the same part of the sky4 #b4 ,this body then became as big as to fill the whole atmosphere1 and as deep and dark black as to cover the ten sides of the sky1 under the shadow of its sable appearance4 #c4 ,its three eye-balls flashed with the flaming lights of the sun1 moon and fire2 and the body which was as black as the fumes of a dark flame1 was as mute as the ten sides of the naked sky4 #d4 ,the eyes were blazing with the flame of the submarine fire1 and the arms were as ponderous as the huge surges of the sea2 and the blue body1 seemed as the consolidated form of waters rising from the blue universal ocean4 #e4 ,as ,i was looking upon this enormous body1 ,i saw a form like that of its shadow rising from it2 and jumping about in the manner of dancing4 #f4 ,i was thinking in my mind1 as to how could this appear in this dark and dreary night2 when the heavens were hid under darkness1 and there was no luminary shining in the sky 7to cause the shadow74 #g4 ,as ,i was reflecting in this manner1 ,i beheld on the foreground of that etherial stage1 the stalwart phantom of a dark dingy female with three eyes1 prancing and dancing and glancing all about4 #h4 ,she was of a large and lean stature1 and of a dark black complexion2 with her flaming eye-balls burning as fire1 and girt with wild flowers all over her body4 #i4 ,she was as inky black as pasted pitch1 and as dark as the darkest night or ,erebus2 and with her body of darkness visible1 she appeared as the image of primeval night4 #aj4 ,with her horrid and wide open jaws1 she seemed to view the spacious vacuum of air2 and with her long legs and outstretched arms1 she appeared to measure the depth and breadth of open space on all sides4 #aa4 ,her frame was as faint as it was reduced by long enduring fast1 and it stooped lower and lower as if pressed down by hunger2 it was wavering to and fro1 as a body of sable clouds is driven backward and forward by the driving winds4 #ab4 ,her stature was so lean and long1 that it could not stand by itself2 and was supported like a skeleton1 by the ligaments of the ribs1 and ligatures of arteries1 which uphold it fast from falling4 #ac4 ,in a word her stature was so tall and towering1 that it was by my diurnal journey in the upper and lower skies1 that ,i came to see the top of her head1 and the base of her feet4 #ad4 ,after this ,i beheld her body1 as a bush of tangling thickets and thistles1 by the complicate ligatures of the tendons and arteries1 which fastened all its members together4 #ae4 ,she was wrapped in vests of various hues1 and her head was decked by the luminaries belike her head-dress of lotus flowers4 ,she was beset by the pure light of heaven1 and her robe flashed as fire1 enflamed by the breath of winds4 #af4 ,the lobes of her long ears1 were adorned with rings of snakes1 and pendents of human skulls2 her kneebones were as prominent as two dried gourd shells1 and her two dark dugs hung down loosely upon her breast4 #ag4 ,the braid of hair on the top of her head1 was adorned with feathers of male and young peacocks2 and defied the crowned head of the lord of ,gods 7i4e4 ,indra71 and the circlet of his discus 7,khattnga74 #ah4 ,her moon like teeth1 cast their lustre like moon beams2 and it glistened amidst the dark ocean of chaotic night1 as the moon beams play upon the surface1 and rising waves of the dark blue deep4 #ai4 ,her long stature rose as a large tree in the sky1 and her two kneepans resembled two dry gourds growing upon it2 and these clattered like the rustling of a tree by the breeze1 as she turned about in the air4 #bj4 ,and as she danced about in the air1 with her sombre arms lifted on high2 they resembled the rising of the waves of dark ocean of eternity4 7,the words ,kla and ,kl--implying both the black goddess and dark eternity74 #ba4 ,now she lifts one arm and then many more1 and at last she displays her countless hands2 to play her part in the playhouse of the universe4 #bb4 ,now she shows but one face and then another1 and afterwards many more ad infinitum2 in order to represent her various and infinite parts1 in the vast theatre of the world4 #bc4 ,now she dances on one foot1 and instantly on both her feet2 she stands on a hundred legs in one moment1 and on her numberless feet at another4 #bd4 ,i understood this person to be the figure of chaotic1 and the same which the wise have ascertained as the goddess known under the designation of ,klior eternal night4 ,or ,i presently recognized her as the figure of kla-rtri or dark night2 which the wise have ascertained to be the image of dark eternity1 as designated as the goddess ,kl--,hecate or chaotic night4 7,but ,klias in ,greek1 means ,sundar or fair and beautiful also74 #be4 ,the sockets of her triple eyes flashed with a flame1 like that of the furnace of a fire engine2 and her forest was as glaring and flaring1 as the burning ,indra-nla mountain4 #bf4 ,her cheek-bones were as frightful as two high hills1 projecting over her hideous open mouth2 appearing as a mountain cavern1 and capable of ingulfing the whole world in it4 7,hence ,kli the type of time1 is said to be the devourer of all things1 and restorer of them in unconscious womb74 #bg4 ,her shoulder-blades were as high as two mountain peaks1 piercing the starry frame2 where they were decorated by the clusters of stars1 as with strings of pearls4 #bh4 ,she danced with her outstretched arms1 resembling the waving branches of trees2 and displayed the brightness of her nails1 like that of blooming blossoms upon them2 or as so many full moons shining under the azure sky4 #bi4 ,as she turned and tossed her sable hands on every side1 she seemed as a dark cloud moving about in the sky2 and the lustre of her nails1 appeared to shed the splendour of stars all around4 #cj4 ,the face of the sky resembled a forest ground1 occupied by the black arbours of her two sable arms2 and her outstretched fingers resembling the twigs of the trees1 were covered over by the blossoms of their pearly nails1 which waved as flowers in azure sky4 #ca4 ,with her legs taller than the tallest tla and tamla trees1 she stalked over the burning earth1 and put to shame the largest trees that grew upon it 7and kept burning without being able to move74 #cb4 ,the long and flowing hairs on her head1 reached to and spread over the skies2 and seemed about to form black vestures for the dark elephantine clouds1 moving about in the empty air4 #cc4 ,she breathed from her nostrils a rapid gale of wind1 which bore the mountains aloft in the air2 and blew great gales in the sky2 resounding with loud repeals from all sides of its boundless spheres4 #cd4 ,the breath of her nostrils and mouth1 blew in unison all about the circle of the universe2 and kept the great sphere in its constant rotation1 as it were in its enharmonic progression4 #ce4 ,i then came to perceive1 as ,i looked on her with attention1 that her stature was enlarging with her dancing1 till at last ,i found it to fill the whole space of the air and sky4 #cf4 ,and as long ,i continued to behold her in her dancing state1 ,i saw the great mountains pendant all about her body1 as if they were a string of jewels around her person4 #cg4 ,the dark diluvian clouds formed a sablegarb about her body1 and the phenomena of the three worlds appeared as the various decorations1 that adorned her person4 #ch4 ,the ,himlaya and ,sumeru mountains1 were as her two silver and golden ear-rings1 and the rolling worlds1 resembled the ringing trinkets and belts about her waist4 #ci4 ,the ranges of boundary mountains1 were as chains and wreaths of flower upon her person2 and the cities and towns and villages and islands1 were as the leaves of trees scattered about her4 #dj4 ,all the cities and towns of the earth1 appeared as adornments on her person2 and all the three worlds and their seasons and divisions of time1 were as ornaments and garments upon her body4 #da4 ,she had the streams of holy rivers of ,gang and ,yamun1 hanging down as strings of pearls from the ears of her other heads4 ,so the virtues and vices 7recorded in the srutis71 formed decorations of her ears also4 #db4 ,the four vedas were her four breasts1 which exuded with the sweet milk 7of religion7 in the manner of her sweat2 and the doctrines of other sstras1 flowed as milk from their nipples4 #dc4 ,the armour and arms1 and the various weapons as the sword and the shield1 the spear and the mallet1 which she bore on her body2 decorated her person as with wreaths of flowers4 #dd4 ,the ,gods and all the fourteen kinds of animal beings1 were all situated as lines of hair on her person1 in her form of animated nature itself4 #de4 ,the cities and villages and hills1 which were situated in her person2 all joined in their merry dance with herself1 in the expectation of their resurrection1 in the same forms again4 #df4 ,the unstable moving creation also1 which rested in her1 appeared to me as if they were situated in the next world1 and dancing with joy in the hope of their revivification4 7,the living that are dead and buried in the chaotic ,kl1 are to be revivified to life again74 #dg4 ,the chaotic ,kl1 having devoured and assimilated the world in herself2 dances with joy like the peacock1 after gorging a snake in its belly1 and at the appearance of a dark cloud4 #dh4 ,the world continues to remain and exhibit its real form1 in her wide extended figure2 as the shadow of a thing is seen in a mirror1 and the situations of countries are shown in a map4 #di4 ,i saw her sometimes to stand still1 with the whole world and all its forests and mountains2 to be moving and dancing in her person2 and all forms to be repeatedly reduced in and produced from her4 #ej4 ,i beheld the harmonious oscillation of the whole1 in the mirror of that person2 and ,i saw the repeated rising and setting of the world in that circle1 without its utter extinction4 #ea4 ,i marked the revolution of the stars1 and the rising of mountains within its circumference1 and ,i observed the throngs of gods and demigods1 to assemble and disperse on her in time1 as flights of gnats and flies1 are driven to and fro by the winds in open air4 #eb4 ,all these heavenly bodies and these islands in the ocean1 are moving around her1 like the flying wheels of a broken warcar2 and they whirl up and down about her1 like the rocks and woods in a whirlpool4 #ec4 ,she is clad in the robes of the blue clouds1 which are furled and folded by the breezes of air2 and the cracking of wood and bones under feet1 answer the sound of her foot-steps and anklets below4 #ed4 ,the world is filled with the noise of the concussion and separation of its objects1 and the tumult of worldly people2 appearing as passing shadows in a mirror1 or as the entrance and exits of actors in a play on the stage4 #ee4 ,the high-headed ,meru and the long armed 7ranged7 boundary mountains1 seem to be dancing about her in their representations in the moving clouds2 and the forest trees seen in the clouds1 seem to perform their circuitous dance all around4 #ef4 ,the high-swelling seas were heaving their waves to heaven1 bearing with them the uprooted woods of the coasts on high1 and again hurling them down1 and sinking them in the waters below4 #eg4 ,the cities were seen to be rolling with a tremendous noise in the waters below1 and no relics of houses and towers and the habitations of human kind1 were found to be left beneath4 #eh4 ,as the chaotic night 7kla-rtri7 was thus roving at random1 the sun and moon with their light and shade1 found shelter in the tops of her nails1 where they sparkled as threads of gold4 7i4e4 ,the flash of her nails1 afforded the only light amidst the universe of gloom74 #ei4 ,she was clad in the blue mantle of the clouds1 and adorned with necklaces of frost and icicles2 and the worlds hung about her1 like the trickling dewdrops of her perspiration4 #fj4 ,the blue sky formed her covering veil about her head1 the infernal region her footstool1 the earth her bowels1 and the several sides 7or points of the compass7 were so many arms on her4 #fa4 ,the seas and their islands1 formed the cavities and pimples in her person2 the hills and rocks made her rib bones1 and the winds of heaven were her vital airs4 #fb4 ,as she continues in her dancing1 the huge mountains and rocks swing and reel about her gigantic body1 as her attendant satellites4 #fc4 ,the mountain trees turning around her1 appear to weave chaplets and dance about1 in congratulation of her commencing a new cycle or kalpa4 #fd4 ,the gods and demigods1 the hairless serpents and worms1 and all hairy bodies2 are all but component parts of her body2 and being unable to remain quiescent while she is in motion1 are all turning round with her4 #fe4 ,she weaves the three fold cord of the sacred thread--trivrit1 consisting of acts1 sacrifices and knowledge1 which she proclaims aloud in the thundering voice of the triple vedas4 #ff4 ,before her 7i4e4 in the infinite space71 there is no heaven or earth 7i4e4 up or down72 but the one becomes the other1 by its constant rotation like the wheel of a vehicle4 #fg4 ,her wide open nostrils constantly breathe out hoarse currents of her breath1 which give rise to the winds of air1 and their loud sufflations and whistlings4 #fh4 ,her hundred fold arms revolving in all the four directions1 give the sky the appearance of a forest2 filled with the tall heads of trees and their branches1 shaken by a furious tornado in the air4 #fi4 ,at last my steady eye-sight grew tired1 with viewing the varieties of productions from her body2 and their motions and movements1 resembling the manners of an army in warfare4 #gj4 ,mountains were seen to be rolling as by an engine1 and the cities of the celestials falling downward2 and all these appearances were observed to take place in the mirror of her person4 #ga4 ,the ,meru mountains were torn and borne away as branches of trees1 and the ,malayas were tossed about as flying leaves2 the ,himlayas fell down as dewdrops1 and all earthly things are scattered as straws4 #gb4 ,the hills and rocks fled away1 and the ,vindhyas flew as aerials in the air2 the woods rolled in the whirlpools1 and the stars floated in the sea of heaven1 as swans and geese in the lakes below4 #gc4 ,islands floated as straws in the ocean of her body1 and the seas were worn as circlet on it2 the abodes of the gods were like lotus-flowers1 blooming in the large lake of her person4 #gd4 ,as we see the images of cities in our dream1 and in the darkness of night1 as clearly we behold them in the fair sky light2 so ,i beheld all things in her dark body1 as vividly as they shone in broad sunlight4 #ge4 ,all things though immovable1 as the mountains and seas and arbours2 appear to be moving in and dancing about in her person4 #gf4 ,so the wandering worlds are dancing about in the great circle of her spacious body1 as if they were mere straws in the vast ocean of creation4 ,thus the sea rolls on the mountain1 and the high hills pierces the hollow of the heaven above4 ,this heaven also with its sun and moon1 are turning below the earth2 and the earth with all its islands and mountains1 cities1 forests and flowery gardens2 is dancing in heaven round about the sun4 7,describing the harmonious dance of the planetary spheres in empty air74 #gg4 ,the mountains are wandering 7with the earth71 amidst the surrounding sky2 and the sea passes beyond the horizon 7with the rotation of the earth72 and so the cities and all human habitations1 traverse through other skies2 and so also the rivers and lakes pass through other regions1 as objects reflecting themselves in different mirrors1 and as swiftly as the leaf of a tree torn by a tempest1 is hurled on and borne afar to distant parts4 #gh4 ,fishes skim in the desert air 7or etherial desert71 as they swim in the watery plain2 and cities are situated in empty air1 as firmly as they are fixed on solid earth4 ,the waters are raised to heaven by the clouds1 which are again driven back by the winds1 to pour their waters on mountain tops4 #gi4 ,the groups of stars are wandering about1 like lustres of a thousand lamps lighted in the sky2 they seem to shed gems with their rays as they roll1 or scatter flowers from all sides on the heads of gods and aerial beings4 #hj4 ,creations and destructions accompany her1 as fleeting days and nights1 or as jewels of brilliant and black gems on her person4 ,they are as the two fortnights resembling her white and black wings on either side4 #ha4 ,the sun and moon are the two bright gems on her person1 and the clusters of stars form her necklaces of lesser gems2 the clear firmament is her white apparel1 and the flashes of lightnings form the brocaded fringes of her garment4 #hb4 ,as she dances in her giddy dance of destruction1 she huddles the worlds under her feet as her anklets1 raising thereby a jingling sound as that of her trinkets4 #hc4 ,in her warfare with the jarring elements1 rolling on like waves of the ocean1 and darkening the daylight as by the waving swords of warriors1 she listens to the tumult of all the worlds and their peoples4 #hd4 ,the gods ,brahm1 ,vishnu and ,siva1 together with the regents of sun and moon and fire1 and all other gods and demigods1 that shine in their respective offices2 are all made to fly before like a flight of gnats1 and with the velocity of lightning4 #he4 ,her body is a congeries of conflicting elements and contrary principles1 and creation and destruction1 existence and non-existence1 happiness and misery1 life and death1 and all injunctions and prohibitions 7i4e4 the mandatory and prohibitory laws1 do all abide conjointly and yet separately in her person74 #hf4 ,the various states of production and existence1 and continuance of action and motion1 and their cessation which appear to take place in her body1 as in those of all corporeal beings1 together with the revolution of the earth and all other worlds in empty air2 are all but false delusions of our minds1 as there is nothing in reality except a boundless vacuity4 #hg4 ,life and death1 peace and trouble1 joy and sorrow1 war and truce1 anger and fear1 envy and enmity1 faith and distrust and all other opposite feelings2 are concomitants with this worldly life1 and they dwell together in the same person1 as the various gems stored in a chest4 #hh4 ,the intellectual sphere of her body1 teems with notions of multifarious worlds2 which appear as phantoms in the open air1 or as fallacies of vision to the dim sighted man4 #hi4 ,whether the world is quiescent in the intellect1 or a passing phenomenon of outward vision2 it appears both as stable as well as moving1 like the reflexion of objects in a standing or shaking mirror4 #ij4 ,all worldly objects are as fluctuating1 as the changing shows in a magic play2 they forsake their forms and assume others as quickly1 as the fickle desires of whimsical boys are ever shifting from one object to another4 #ia4 ,it is the combination of causal powers1 which cause the production of bodies2 and it is their separation which effects their dissolution2 as it is the accumulation of grains1 which makes a granary1 and their abstraction which tends to its disappearance4 #ib4 ,the ,goddess now appears in one form1 and then in another2 she becomes now as small as the thumb finger1 and in a moment fills the sky 7with the bigness of her body74 #ic4 ,that goddess is all in all1 she is changed through every thing in world1 and is the cosmos itself and the power of the intellect also2 she fills the whole concavity of the sky with her form of pure vacuity4 #id4 ,she is the intellect1 which embraces all1 whatever is contained in the three worlds and in all the three times 7of the past1 present1 and future74 ,it is she that expands the worlds which are contained in her1 as a painter draws out the figures which are pictured in the receptacle of his mind4 #ie4 ,she is the all comprehensive and plastic nature or form of all things2 and being one with the intellectual spirit1 she is equally as calm and quiet as the other4 ,being thus uniform in her nature1 she is varied to endless forms in the twinkling of her eye4 #if4 ,all these visibles appear in her1 as marks of lotuses and carved figures are seen in a hollow stone 7or in the perforated sligram stones of gunduk74 ,her body is the hollow sphere of heaven1 and her mind is full of all forms1 appearing as waves in the depth of sea1 or as the sights of things in the bosom of a crystal stone 7as reflected in it by the ,divine ,intellect74 #ig4 ,the very furious goddess ,bhairav--the consort of the dread god ,bhairava--the lord of destruction1 was thus dancing about with her fierce forms filling the whole firmament4 #ih4 ,on one side the earth was burning with the fire1 issuing from the eye on the fore-head of all destroying ,rudra2 and on the other was his consort ,rudran1 dancing like a forest blown away by a hurricane4 #ii4 ,she was armed more over with many other weapons1 7beside those that are mentioned before72 such as a spade1 a mortar and pestle1 a mallet1 a mace c42 which adorned her body as a garland of flowers4 #ajj4 ,in this manner1 she danced and scattered the flowers of her garlands on all sides2 in her acts of destructions and recreation 7as preliminaries on one another74 #aja4 ,she hailed the god ,bhairava--the regent of the skies1 who joined her in dancing with his form as big and high as hers4 #ajb4 ,may the god ,bhairava1 with his associate ,goddess of ,klartri or chaotic night1 preserve you all in their act of heroic dance1 with the beating of high sounding drums1 and the blowing of their buffalo horn1 as they drink their bowls of blood and are adorned with wreaths of flowers1 hanging down from their heads to the breasts4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,person ,,of ,,the ,,god ,,siva4 ,argument3--,description of the perfection and personality of ,siva as an undivided whole4 ,rma rejoined3--,who is this goddess1 sir1 that is dancing thus in her act of destruction1 and why is it that she bears on her body the pots and fruits as her wreaths of flowers8 #b4 ,say1 whether the worlds are wholly destroyed at the end1 or they become extinct in the goddess ,kli1 and reside in her person1 and when doth her dance come to an end4 #c4 ,vasishtha replied3--,neither is he a male1 nor is she a female2 nor was there a dancing of the one1 or a duality of the two 7in their spirit72 such being the case 7of their unity71 and such the nature of their action 7of destruction72 neither of them any form1 or figure of their own 7except that they are personified as such74 #d4 ,that which is without its beginning or end1 is the divine ,intellect alone2 which in the manner of infinite vacuity1 is the cause of all causes4 7,in the beginning all was void1 which caused all things74 #e4 ,it is the increate and endless light1 that exists from eternity1 and extends over all space4 ,this calm and quiet state of the etherial space is known as ,siva or tranquil1 and its change to confusion at the end1 is denominated ,bhairava or the dreadful4 7i4e4 the ,lord acting his dreadful part in the theatre of the universe74 #f4 ,it is impossible for the pure and formless intellect1 to remain alone and aloof from its association with plastic nature2 as it is not likely to find any gold to exist without some form or other4 7,so the sruti3--,the creation and absorption of the world1 require a formal agent and recipient also74 #g4 ,say ye who know1 how the intellect may subsist without its intelligence1 and where a pepper may be had without its pungency8 7,there is nothing without its necessary property1 nor the formal world without a formal cause74 #h4 ,consider how can there be any gold1 without its form of a bracelet or any other2 and how doth a substance exist without its substantial property or nature8 #i4 ,say what is the extract of the sugar-cane1 unless it is possessed of its sweetness2 you can not call it the juice of sugar-cane1 unless you find the saccharine flavour in the same4 #aj4 ,when the intellect is devoid of its intellection1 you can not call it as the intellect any more2 nor is the vacuous form of the intellect1 ever liable to any change or annihilation4 7,a void is devoid of all accidents74 #aa4 ,vacuity admits of no variety1 besides its retaining the identity of its inanity2 and in order to assume a diversity1 the void must remain a void as ever4 7,or else it becomes a solid1 which is no more itself74 #ab4 ,therefore the unchanged and unagitated essence1 which is essential to it1 must be without beginning and unlimited1 and full of all potency in itself 7since vacuum is the medium both of creation as well as of annihilation also74 #ac4 ,and therefore the creation of the three worlds and their destruction1 the earth1 firmament and the sides of the compass2 together with all the acts of creation and destruction1 are the indiscriminate phenomena of vacuum4 #ad4 ,all births1 deaths1 delusions and ignorance1 being and not being1 together with knowledge and dullness1 restraint and liberty1 and all events whether good or evil4 #ae4 ,knowledge and its want1 the body and its loss1 temporariness and diuturnity2 together with mobility and inertia1 and egoism and tuism and illism4 #af4 ,all good and evil1 goodness and badness1 ignorance and intelligence2 together with durations of time and space1 substance and action1 and all our thoughts1 fancies and imagination4 #ag4 ,the sight of the forms of things and the thoughts of the mind1 the action of the body1 understanding and senses2 with those of the elements of earth and water1 fire1 air1 and vacuum extending all about us4 #ah4 ,these and all others1 proceed from the pure intellectual vacuity of the ,divine spirit2 which resides in its vacuous form in everything and is always without decay and decrease4 #ai4 ,all things subsist in pure vacuum1 and are as pure as the void itself2 there is nothing beside this empty air1 though they appear as real as doth a mountain in our hollow dream4 #bj4 ,the intellectual spirit1 which ,i have said to be transcendent void2 is the same which we call as jva--the sempiternal and ,rudra--the august4 #ba4 ,he is adored as ,hari or ,vishnu by some1 and as ,brahm the great progenitor of men by others2 he is called the sun and moon1 and as ,indra1 ,varuna1 ,yama1 the ,virta and the ,god of fire also4 #bb4 ,he is the marut or wind1 the cloud and sea1 the sky1 and everything that there is or is not2 all whatever manifests itself in the empty sphere of the ,intellect4 #bc4 ,in this manner all things appearing under different names1 and taken to be true by the ignorant eye2 vanish into nothing in their spiritual light1 which shows them in their pure intellectual natures4 #bd4 ,in the understanding of the ignorant1 the world appears as apart from the spirit2 but to the intellectual soul1 the vacuity of the intellect is known to be situated in the ,divine spirit2 therefore there is no distinction of unity and duality to the knowing mind 7in which all multiplicities blend into unity74 #be4 ,so long is the living soul tossed about as a wave in the ocean of the world1 and running the course of its repeated births and deaths in it2 until it comes to know the nature of the supreme spirit1 when it becomes as immortal and perfect as the eternal soul and self-same with it4 #bf4 ,by this knowledge of the universal soul1 the human soul attains its perfect tranquility2 as to find itself no more1 as the fluctuating wave in the ocean of the world1 but views itself and everything beside1 to be as calm and quiet1 as the eternal and infinite spirit of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxiii4 ,,sight ,,of ,,the ,,mundane ,,god4 ,argument3--,siva is the ,representation of the ,pure ,intellect2 but ,bhairava ,kli are not so4 ,explanation of the causes of such representations and ,personifications4 ,vasishtha added3--,i have already related to you1 that ,siva is the representation of the vacuous intellect2 but not so is ,rudra1 whom ,i have described as dancing all about4 #b4 ,the form that is attributed to him 7or to the goddess kl72 is not their real figure2 but a representation of the grosser aspect of intellectual vacuity 7which is of a dark complexion74 #c4 ,i saw with my intellectual and clear vision 7clair-voyance71 that sphere of the intellect in its clear1 bright and clear light 7as that of ,siva's body72 but it did not appear so to others1 who beheld it in their ignorance1 to be as dark as the black complexion of the associate goddess4 7,there is shadow under the lamp74 #d4 ,i saw at the end of the kalpa cycle1 the two spectres of delusion1 appearing before me2 the one was the furious ,rudra1 and the other--the ferocious ,bhairava2 and knew them both to be but delusion1 and creatures of my mistaken fancy4 #e4 ,the great chasm which is seen to exist in the vacuous sphere of the ,intellect1 the same is supposed to be conceived under the idea of a vast void1 represented as the dreadful ,bhairava4 #f4 ,we can have no conception of anything1 without knowing the relation1 the significant term and its signification2 it is for that reason that ,i related this to you1 as ,i found it to be4 #g4 ,whatever idea is conveyed to the mind by the significant term1 know ,rma1 the very same to be presently presented before the outward sight by the power of delusion and as a magical appearance4 #h4 ,in reality there is no destruction1 nor the destructive power of ,bhairava or ,bhairav 7in the masculine or feminine gender72 all these are but erroneous conceptions fleeting in the empty space of the intellect4 7,it is the bias of the mind1 which presents these hobgoblins to sight74 #i4 ,these appearances are as those of the cities seen in our dream1 or as a warfare shewn in our fancy2 they are as the utopian realms of one's imagination1 or as the fits of our feelings on some pathetic and heart stirring description4 #aj4 ,as the fairy castle is seen in the field of fancy1 and strings of pearls hanging in the empty air2 and as mists and vapours darken the clear atmosphere1 so are there the troops of fallacies flying all about the firmament of the intellect4 #aa4 ,but the clear sky of the pure intellect1 shines of itself in itself2 and when it shines in that state1 it shows the world in itself4 #ab4 ,the soul exhibits itself in its intellectual sphere1 in the same manner as a figure is seen in picture2 and the soul manifests also in the raging fire of final destruction4 7,the same soul is equally manifest in the subjective1 as well as in the objective1 i4e4 both in itself as in all other things whatsoever74 #ac4 ,i have thus far related to you1 regarding the formlessness of the forms of ,siva and his consort ,sivn2 hear me now to tell you concerning their dance1 which was literally no dancing4 #ad4 ,sensation cannot exist any where 7in any person71 without the action of the power 7lit1 element7 of intellection2 as it is not possible for anything to be a nothing or appear otherwise than what it is4 7,gloss4 ,there can be no sensation without action of the power of intellection1 as there can be no pearl-shell without the appearance of silver in it74 #ae4 ,therefore the powers of sensations and perception1 are naturally united with all thing1 as ,rudra and his consort1 who are blended together as gold and silver appearing as one and the same metal4 #af4 ,whatever is sensation and wherever it exists1 the same must be a sensible object1 and have action or motion for its natural property4 #ag4 ,whatever is the action of the ,intellect1 whose consolidated form is called by the name ,siva1 the same is the cause of our motions also2 and as these are actuated by our will and desires1 they are called the dance or vacillations 7of the intellectual power74 #ah4 ,therefore the furious form of ,rudra1 which is assumed by the god ,siva at the end of a kalpa2 which is said to dance about at that time1 is to be known as vibration of the divine intellect4 #ai4 ,rma rejoined3--,this world being nothing in reality1 in the sight of the right observer2 and anything that there remains of it in any sense whatever1 the same is also destroyed at the end of the kalpa4 #bj4 ,how then does it happen at the end of the kalpa1 when everything is lost in the formless void of vacuity1 that this consolidated form of intellect1 known as ,siva remains and thinks in itself4 #ba4 ,vasishtha replied3--,o ,rma6 if you entertain such doubt1 then hear me tell you1 how you can get over the great ocean of your doubts1 respecting the unity and duality of the deity3--that all things being extinct at the end1 there remains the thinking and subjective intellect alone1 without anything objective to think upon4 #bb4 ,the subjective soul then thinks of nothing1 but remains quite tranquil in itself2 as the unmoving and mute stone1 and resting in the solid vacuity of its omniscience4 #bc4 ,if it reflects at all on anything1 it is only on itself2 because it is the nature of the intellect to dwell calmly in itself4 #bd4 ,as the intellect appears itself1 like the inward city it sees within itself in a dream2 so there is nothing in real existence any where1 except the knowledge thereof1 which is inherent in the intellect4 7,so it is with the divine intellect1 whose omniscience comprehends the knowledge of every thing in itself74 #be4 ,the divine soul knowing everything in itself1 and in its vacuous intellect1 sees the manifestation of the universe at the time of creation1 by simple development of itself4 #bf4 ,the intellect developes itself of its own nature1 within its vacuous cell at first2 and then in a moment envelopes this erroneous universe in itself1 and at his will at the time of its destruction4 #bg4 ,the intellect expands itself1 in itself in its natural state of vacuum2 and devolves itself likewise into its conceptions of ,i and thou and all others 7which are but false ideas and creatures of its imagination74 #bh4 ,therefore there exists no duality nor unity1 nor an empty vacuity either2 there is neither an intelligence or its want or the both together2 so is there neither my meism nor thy tuism either4 #bi4 ,there is nothing that ever thinks of anything1 nor aught whatever which is thought of or object thereof of its own nature2 therefore there is nothing that thinks or reflects1 but all is quite rest and silence4 #cj4 ,it is the unalterable steadiness of the mind1 which is the ultimate samdhi or perfection of all sstras2 therefore the living yogi aught to remain1 as the mute and immovable stone in his meditation4 #ca4 ,now ,rma1 remain to discharge your ordinary duties1 as they are incumbent on you by the rules of your race2 but continue to be quiet and steady in your spiritual part1 by renouncing all worldly pride and vanity2 and enjoy a peaceful composure in your mind and soul1 as that of the serene and calm and clear concavity of the sky4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxiv4 ,,relation ,,of ,,siva ,,and ,,sakti ,,or ,,of ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit ,,and ,,its ,,power4 ,argument3--,the definition of the term ,sakti and her elucidation4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 why the goddess ,kli is said to be dancing about1 and why is she armed with axe and other weapons1 and arrayed with her wreaths of flowers4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is the vacuum of the intellect1 which is called both as ,siva and ,bhairava2 and it is this intellectual power or force1 which is identic with itself1 that is called ,kli and its consorting mind4 #c4 ,as the wind is one with its vacillation1 and the fire is identic with its heat2 so is the intellect identical with its oscillation4 7,the mind is ever fleeting and active as dull matter is inert and inactive74 #d4 ,as the wind is invisible even in its act of vacillations1 and the heat is unseen even in its act of burning2 so the intellect is imperceptible notwithstanding its acting1 and is therefore called ,siva--the calm and quiet4 #e4 ,it is because of the wondrous power of his vibration1 that he is known to us1 and without which we could have no knowledge of his existence2 know therefore this ,siva to be the all powerful ,brahma1 who is otherwise a quiescent being1 and unknowable even by the learned and wise4 #f4 ,his oscillation is the power of his will1 which has spread-out this visible appearance2 as it is the will of an embodied and living man1 that builds a city according to his thought 7or just as it depends on the option of a living person1 to erect a city according to the model in his thought or mind74 #g4 ,it is the will of ,siva or ,jove that creates all this world from its formless state1 and it is this creative power which is the ,intelligence of ,god1 and the intellection of living being4 #h4 ,this power takes also the form of nature in her formation of the creation1 and is called the creation itself1 on account of her assuming on herself the representation of the phenomenal world4 #i4 ,she is represented with a crest of submarine fire on her head1 and to be dry and withered in her body2 she is said to be a fury on account of her furiousness1 and called the lotiform from the blue-lotus-like complexion of her person4 #aj4 ,she is called by the names jay and siddha 7victory and fortune71 owing to her being accompanied by victory and prosperity at all times4 #aa4 ,she is also designated as ,aparjit or invincible1 viry the mighty and ,durg--the inaccessible1 and is like wise renowned as um1 for her being composed of the powers of the three letters of the mystic syllable ,om4 7,in the birth of um1 the subject of the first canto of ,kumra ,sambhaba1 ,klidsa says1 8,tapasa nibrita je umeti nmn prakrtit10 she was termed um for prevention of austerities4 ,the glossarists have all explained the passage in the sense of the mythic personification of um1 and nobody has ever known its mystic interpretation of sacred syllable ,om itself1 whose utterance precludes the necessity of all formal devotions3 i4e4 to say1 um-is-om the divine mantra itself74 #ab4 ,she is called the gyatr 7hymn7 from its being chanted by every body1 and ,svitr also from her being the progenitrix of all beings2 she is named ,sarasvat likewise1 for her giving us an insight into whatever appears before our sight4 #ac4 ,she bears the appelation of ,gaur from her gaura or fair complexion1 and of ,bhavn from her being the source of all beings1 as also from her association with the body of ,bhava--or ,siva4 ,she is also termed the letter 7a7 to signify her being the vital breath of all waking and sleeping bodies4 #ad4 ,um means moreover the digit of the moon1 which enlightens the worlds from the forehead of ,siva2 and the bodies of the ,god and ,goddess are both painted as black and blue1 from their representing the two hemispheres of heaven4 #ae4 ,the sky appears as dark and bright from the two complexions of these divinities1 who are situated in the vacuous forms in the bosom of the great vacuum itself4 #af4 ,though they are formless as empty airs1 yet they are conceived as the first-born of the void2 and are figuratively attributed with more or less hands and feet1 and holding as many weapons in them4 #ag4 ,now know the reason of attributing the ,goddess with many weapons and instruments1 to be no more1 than of representing her1 as the patron of all arts and their employments4 #ah4 ,she was self-same with the supreme soul1 as its power of self-meditation from all eternity2 and assumed the shapes of the acts of sacred ablutions1 religions1 sacrifices1 and holy gifts1 as her primal forms in vedas4 7i4e4 ,the intellectual power 7chit-sakti7 evolves itself to meditation and action--dhyna and ,karma74 #ai4 ,she is of the form of the azure sky1 comely in appearance and is the beauty of the visibles2 she is the motion of all objects1 and the varieties of their movements are the various modes of the dancing of the goddess4 7the divine power or force--sakti1 is always personified as his female agent1 as it is evident in the words potentia1 energia1 exergasia1 qudrat1 taquat c474 #bj4 ,she is the agent of ,brahm in his laws of the birth1 decay1 and deaths of beings2 and all cities and countries1 mountains and islands1 hang on her agency as a string of gems about her neck4 #ba4 ,she holds together all parts of the world1 as by her power of attraction2 and infuses her force as momentum in them all1 as it were into the different limbs and members of her body1 she bears the various appellations of ,kl1 ,klika c41 according to her several functions denoted by those terms 7in the glossary74 #bb4 ,she as the one great body of the cosmos1 links together all its parts like her limbs unto her heart2 and moves them all about her2 though this formless body of force1 has never been seen or known by any body4 7,we always see the moving bodies about us1 but never the moving force which moves them all about74 #bc4 ,know this ever oscillant power to be never different or unconnected1 from the quiescent spirit of ,siva the changeless god2 nor think the fluctuating winds to be ever apart from the calm vacuum1 in which they abide and vibrate for ever4 #bd4 ,the world is a display of the glory of ,god1 as the moonlight is a manifestation of the brightness of that luminary2 which is otherwise dark and obscure2 so the lord ,god is ever tranquil and quiet and without any change or decay without his works4 #be4 ,there is not the least shadow1 of fluctuation in the supreme soul2 it is the action of this agency1 that appears to be moving us4 7,gloss4 ,the inactive spirit of ,god is the true reality1 and the passing phenomena are all but vanity74 #bf4 ,that is said to be the tranquil spirit of ,siva--the god1 which reverts itself from action1 and reposes in its understanding2 and apart from the active energy which possesses the intellect as its goddess4 7,hence the state of the soul in perfect rest and repose is called ,siva--salvus or felicity74 #bg4 ,the intellect reposing in its natural state of the understanding1 is styled ,siva--salvus or felix2 but the active energy of the intellectual power1 is what passes under the name of the great goddess of action4 #bh4 ,that bodiless power1 assumes the imaginary forms of these worlds1 with all the peoples that are visible in them in the day light4 #bi4 ,it is this power which supports the earth1 with all its seas and islands1 and its forests1 deserts and mountains1 it maintains the vedas with its angas1 upangas1 the sstras1 sciences and the psalms4 7,the vedas are four in number1 its angas or branches called the six vedngas namely1 the siksha1 kalpa1 nirukta1 vykarana1 chhanda and jyotisha4 ,the upangas or subsidiary branches are the four arts1 viz41 yurveda or medicine1 dhanurveda--archery1 gandharva--music c4 ,the vidyas are the sciences and philosophy1 and the gts are smagiti or the psalm of smaveda74 #cj4 ,it ordains the injunctions and prohibitions 7of law71 and gives the rules of auspicious and inauspicious acts and rites2 it directs the sacrifices and sacrificial fires1 and the modes of offering cakes and oblations4 #ca4 ,this goddess is adorned with the sacrificial implements1 as the mortar and pestle1 the post and ladle c42 and is arrayed with the weapons of warfare also1 as the spear1 arrows and the lance4 #cb4 ,she is arrayed with the mace and many missile weapons also2 and accompanied by horse and elephants and valiant gods with her4 ,in short she fills the fourteen worlds1 and occupies the earth with all its seas and islands4 #cc4 ,rma said3--,i will ask you sir1 to tell me now1 whether the thoughts of creation in the divine mind1 subsisted 7in their ideal forms7 in the ,divine soul2 or they were incorporated in the forms of ,rudra and which are false and fictitious4 #cd4 ,vasishtha replied3--,rma1 she is verily the power of the ,intellect 7,divine mind71 as you have rightly said2 and all these that there are being thought of by her1 they are all true as her thoughts 7and not in their visible appearances74 #ce4 ,the thoughts that are subjective and imprinted in the inner intellect 7from preconceived desire or reminiscence71 are never untrue2 just as the reflection of our face cast in a mirror from without1 cannot be a false shadow4 #cf4 ,but those thoughts are false1 which enter into the mind from without1 as the whole body 7lit4 city of our desires and false imaginations72 and the fallacies of these are removed upon our right reflection and by means of our sound judgment4 #cg4 ,but in my opinion1 the firm belief and persuasion of the human soul in anything whatever1 is reckoned as true by every one2 such as the picture of a thing in a mirror1 and the representations of things seen in a dream or the forms of things seen in a picture or in dream1 and the creatures of our imagination are all taken for true and real by every one for the time1 and for their serviceableness to him4 #ch4 ,but you may object and say that1 things that are absent and at a distance from you1 are no way serviceable to you1 and yet they cannot be said to be inexistent or unreal2 because they come to use when they are present before us4 #ci4 ,as the productions of a distant country1 become of use when they are presented before us2 so the objects of our dreams and thoughts1 are equally true and useful when they are present in view2 so also every idea of a definite shape and signification1 is a certain reality 7as that of the goddess ,kl74 #dj4 ,as an object or its action passing under the sight of any one1 is believed to be true by its observer2 so whatever thought passes in his mind1 is thought to be true by him4 ,but nothing that is seen or thought of by another1 is ever known to or taken into belief by any one else1 or accounted as true to him4 #da4 ,it is therefore in the power of the ,divine ,intellect1 that the embryo of the creation is contained for ever2 and the whole universe is ever existent in the divine soul1 it is wholly unknown to others4 #db4 ,all that is past1 present1 and ever to be in future1 together with all the desires and thoughts of others2 are for ever really existent in the divine spirit1 else it would not be the universal soul4 7,the meaning of the universal soul is the contained of all and not that it is contained in them74 #dc4 ,there are the adepts only in yoga practice1 who acquire the power of prying into the hearts and minds of others2 just as others come to see different countries1 by passing over the barriers of hills and dales4 7,as the divine soul is the knower of the hearts of others1 so is the pure soul of the holy divine also74 #dd4 ,as the dream of a man fallen into fast sleep1 is not disturbed by the shaking of his bedstead or sleeping couch2 so the fixed thought of any body1 are never lost by his removing from place to place 7or by his departure from this life to the next1 or by his transmigration from one into another74 #de4 ,so the movements of the dancing body of ,kli 7the creative energy of ,god7 cause no fluctuation in the world which is contained within it2 just as the shaking of a mirror1 makes no alternation in the reflection which is cast upon it4 #df4 ,the great bustle and commotion of the world though seeming as real to all appearance1 yet it being but a mere delusion in sober reality1 it were as well whether it moveth all or not all 7as it were the same whether we are hurried or kept sedate in a dream74 #dg4 ,when is the dreaming scene or the city seen in our dream1 said to be a true one1 and when is it pronounced as a falseone2 and when is it said to be existent and when dilapidated8 7supply how for when to give it some sense74 #dh4 ,know the phenomenal world that is exposed before you1 to be but mere illusion2 and it is your sheer fallacy1 to view the unreal visibles as sure realities4 #di4 ,know your conception of the reality of the three worlds to be equally false1 as the aerial castle of your imagination or the air drawn city of your fond desire2 it is as the vision in your dream1 or any conception of your error4 #ej4 ,that this is ,i the subjective1 and the other is the objective world1 is the interminable error that binds fast the mind for ever2 it is a gross mistake as that of the ignorant1 who believe the endless sky to be bounded1 and take it for black or blue2 but the learned are released from this blunder 7and rest in the only existent ,one74 ,,chapter ,,lxxxv4 ,,relation ,,of ,,nature ,,and ,,soul1 ,,or ,,the ,,prime ,,male ,,and ,,female ,,powers4 ,argument3--,the dancing goddess embraces the steady god1 and is joined with him in one body4 ,vasishtha continued3--,thus the goddess was dancing with her outstretched arms1 which with their movements appeared to make a shaking forest of tall pines in the empty sky4 7,the ,briarean arms of ,kl74 #b4 ,this power of the intellect1 which is ignorant of herself and ever prone to action1 continued thus to dance about with her decorations of various tools and instruments4 7,the mental power acts by means of the mechanical powers74 #c4 ,she was arrayed with all kinds of weapons in all her thousand arms1 such as the bow and arrows1 the spear and lance1 the mallet and club1 and the sword and all sort of missiles4 ,she was conversant with all things whether in being or not being1 and was busy at every moment of passing time4 7i4e4 ,ever active in body and mind74 #d4 ,she contained the world in the vibration of her mind1 as airy cities and castles consist in the power of imagination2 it is she herself that is the world1 as the imagination itself is the imaginary city--the utopia4 #e4 ,she is the volition of ,siva1 as fluctuation is innate in the air2 and as the air is still without its vibration1 so ,siva is quite quiet without his will or volition 7represented as his female energy in the form of ,kl74 #f4 ,the formless volition becomes the formal creation in the same manner1 as the formless sky produces the wind which vibrates into sound2 so doth the will of ,siva bring forth the world out of itself4 #g4 ,when this volitive energy of ,kl1 dances and sports in the void of the ,divine mind2 then the world comes out of a sudden1 as if it were by union of the active will with the great void of the supreme ,mind4 #h4 ,being touched by the dark volitive power 7or volentia71 the supreme soul of ,siva is dissolved into water2 just as the sub-marine fire is extinguished by its contact with the water of the sea4 7,water the first form of ,god3 8and the spirit of ,god moved upon the surface of water074 #i4 ,no sooner did this power come in contact with ,siva--the prime cause of all1 the same power of volentia1 inclined and turned to assume the shape of nature1 and to be converted to some physical form4 #aj4 ,then forsaking her boundless and elemental form1 she took upon herself the gross and limited forms of land and hills2 and then became of the form of beautiful arbours and trees4 7i4e4 ,of the forms of minerals and vegetables74 #aa4 7,after taking various other forms71 she became as the formless void1 and became one with the infinite vacuity of ,siva2 just as a river with all its impetuous velocity1 enters into the immensity of the sea4 #ab4 ,she then became as one with ,siva1 by giving up her title of sivaship2 and this ,siva--the female form became the same with ,siva--the prime male1 who is of the form of formless void and perfect tranquility 7called samana--quietus which means both death and the quiet1 which follows the other4 ,samana like somnum is both extinction of life1 and cessation of care and labour74 #ac4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 how that sovran ,goddess ,siva1 could obtain her quiet by her coming in contact with the supreme ,god ,siva 7and forget her former activity altogether74 #ad4 ,vasishtha replied3--,know ,rma1 the ,goddess ,siva to be the will of the ,god ,siva2 she is styled as nature1 and famed as the great ,illusion of the word4 #ae4 ,and this great ,god is said the lord of nature1 and the prime male also2 he is of the form of air and is represented in the form of ,siva1 which is as calm and quiet as the autumnal sky4 #af4 ,the great ,goddess is the energy of the ,intellect and its will also1 and is ever active as force put in motion2 she abides in the world in the manner of its nature1 and roves all about in the manner of the great delusion 7of holding out external nature as the true reality1 instead of her lord the spirit74 #ag4 ,she ranges through out the world1 as long as she is ignorant of her lord ,siva2 who is ever satisfied with himself1 without decay or disease1 and has no beginning or end1 nor a second to himself4 #ah4 ,but no sooner is this ,goddess conscious of herself1 as one and same with the god of self-consciousness2 than she is joined with her lord ,siva1 and becomes one with him4 7,force has its rest in inertia74 #ai4 ,nature coming in contact with the spirit1 forsakes her character of gross nature2 and becomes one with the sole unity1 as a river is incorporated in the ocean4 #bj4 ,the river falling into the sea1 is no more the river but the sea2 and its water joining with sea water1 becomes the same briny water4 #ba4 ,so the mind that is inclined to ,siva1 is united with him and finds its rest therein2 as the iron becomes sharpened by returning to its quarry 7as the knife or razor is sharpened on the white stone74 #bb4 ,as the shadow of a man entering into a forest1 is lost amidst the shade of the wilderness2 so the shades of nature 7or natural propensities71 are all absorbed in the umbrage of the ,divine spirit4 7,it also means as the nature of a woman1 is changed to that of her man74 #bc4 ,but the mind that remembers its own nature1 and forgets that of the eternal spirit2 has to return again to this world1 and never attains its spiritual felicity4 #bd4 ,an honest man dwells with thieves1 so long as he knows them not as such2 but no sooner he comes to know them as so1 then he sure to shun their company and fly from the spot4 #be4 ,so the mind dwells with unreal dualities1 as long as it is ignorant to the transcendent reality2 but as it becomes acquainted with the true unity1 he is sure to be united with it 7by forsaking his dualistic creed74 #bf4 ,when the ignorant mind1 comes to know the supreme felicity1 which attends on the state of its self-extinction or nirvna2 it is ready to resort to it1 as the inland stream runs to join the boundless sea4 #bg4 ,so long doth the mind roam bewildered1 in its repeated births in the tumultuous world2 as it does not find its ultimate bliss in the ,supreme2 unto whom it may fly like a bee to its honeycomb4 #bh4 ,who is there that would forget his spiritual knowledge1 having once known its bliss2 and who is there that forsakes the sweet1 having had once tasted its flavour4 ,say ,rma1 who would not run to relish the delicious draughts1 which pacifies all our woes and pains1 and prevents our repeated births and deaths1 and puts an end to all our delusions in this darksome world4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxvi4 ,,the ,,convertibility ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,to ,,the ,,supreme ,,spirit4 ,argument3--,the huge body of ,rudra1 that absorbs the world in it1 is at last dissolved in empty air and vacuity4 ,vasishtha added3--,hear now ,rma1 how this whole world resides in the infinite void2 and how the airy ,rudra which rises from it1 is freed from his deluded body1 and finds his final rest in it4 #b4 ,as ,i stood looking on upon that block of stone1 ,i beheld the aerial ,rudra and the two upper and nether worlds1 marked over it 7as in a map71 and remaining quite at rest4 #c4 ,then in a moment that airy ,rudra1 beheld the two partitions of the earth and sky within the hollow of vacuum1 with his eye balls blazing as the orb of the sun4 #d4 ,then in the twinkling of an eye1 and with the breath of his nostrils1 he drew the two partitions unto him1 and threw them in the horrid abyss of his mouth4 #e4 ,having then devoured both the divisions of the world1 as if they were a morsel of bread or paste food to him2 he remained alone as air1 and one with the universal air or void about him4 #f4 ,he then appeared as a piece of cloud1 and then as a small stick1 and afterwards as little as digit4 7,a stick is the measure of cubit1 and a digit is that of a span74 #g4 ,i beheld him afterwards to become transparent as a piece of glass1 which at last became as minute as to melt into the air1 and vanish altogether from my microscopic sight4 #h4 ,being reduced to an atom1 it disappeared at once from view2 and like the autumnal cloud became invisible altogether4 #i4 ,in this manner did the two valves of heaven 7the earth and sky71 wholly disappear from my sight2 the wonders of which ,i had erelong been viewing with so much concern and delight4 #aj4 ,the cosmos being thus devoured as grass by the voracious deer2 the firmament was quite cleared of everything1 it became as pellucid1 calm and quiet as the serene vacuum of ,brahma himself4 #aa4 ,i saw there but one vast expanse of intellectual sky1 without any beginning1 midst or end of it2 and bearing its resemblance to the dreary waste of ultimate dissolution1 and a vast desert and desolation4 #ab4 ,i saw also the images of things drawn upon that stone1 as if they were the reflexion of the things in a mirror2 and then remembering the heavenly nymph and seeing all these scenes1 ,i was lost in amazement4 #ac4 ,i was amazed as a clown upon his coming to a royal city1 to see that stone again clearer far than ever before4 #ad4 ,this ,i found to be the body of goddess ,kl1 in which all the worlds seemed to be inscribed as in a slab of stone2 ,i saw these with my intellectual eyes1 far better than they appear to the supernatural sight of deities4 #ae4 ,i beheld therein every thing that there ever existed in any place1 and though it seemed to be situated at a distance from me1 yet ,i recognized it as the very stone 7which was represented as the ,divine ,intellect74 #af4 ,this stone alone is conspicuous to view1 and there was nothing of the worlds it contained so perspicuous in it4 ,the stone remained for ever in the same unvaried state1 with all the worlds lying concealed in it4 #ag4 ,it was taintless and clean1 and as fair and clear as the evening cloud2 ,i was struck with wonder at the sight1 and then fell to my meditation again4 #ah4 ,i looked to the other side of the stone with my contemplative eye1 and found the bustle of the world lying dormant at that place4 #ai4 ,i beheld fully the great variety of things1 as described before2 and then ,i turned my sight to look into another side of it4 #bj4 ,i saw it abounding with the very many creations and created worlds1 accompanied with their tumults and commotions as ,i observed before2 and whatever place ,i thought of and sought for1 ,i found them all in the same stone4 #ba4 ,i saw the fair creation1 as if it were an ectype cast upon a reflector2 and felt a great pleasure to explore into the mountainous source of this stone4 #bb4 ,i searched in every part of the earth1 and traversed through woods and forests2 until ,i passed through every part of the world1 as it was exhibited therein4 #bc4 ,i saw them in my understanding1 and not with my visual organs 7which are both delusive and incapable of reaching so far72 and beheld somewhere the first born ,brahm--the lord of creatures4 #bd4 ,i then beheld his arrangement of the starry frame1 and the spheres of the sun and moon2 as also the rotations of days and nights1 and of the seasons and years2 and ,i saw likewise the surface of the earth1 with its population here and there4 #be4 ,i saw some where the level land1 and the great basins of the four oceans elsewhere2 ,i saw some places quite unpeopled and unproductive1 and others teeming with ,sura and ,asura races4 #bf4 ,somewhere ,i saw the assemblage of righteous men1 with their manners and conduct as those of the pure golden age2 and elsewhere ,i beheld the company of unrighteous people1 following the practices and usages of the corrupt iron age4 #bg4 ,i saw the forts and cities of the demons in certain places1 with fierce and continuous warfares going on all along among them4 #bh4 ,i saw vast mountainous tracts1 without a pit or pool in them any where2 and ,i beheld elsewhere the unfinished creation of the lotus-born ,brahm4 #bi4 ,i saw some lands where men were free from death and decay2 and others with moonless nights and bare headed ,sivas in them4 7,the moon being the coronet of ,siva's head1 it must be bare for want of the moon on it74 #cj4 ,i saw the milky ocean unchurned1 and filled with the dead bodies of gods2 and the marine horse and elephant1 the ,kmadhenu cow1 the physician ,dhanvantari and the goddess ,laxm2 together with the submarine poison and ambrosia1 all lying hidden and buried therein4 #ca4 ,i saw in one place the body of gods1 assembled to baffle the attempts of the giants and the devices of their leader ,sukra2 and the great god ,indra in another1 entering into the womb of ,deity--the mother of demons1 and destroying the unborn brood therein4 #cb4 ,it was on account of the unfading virtue 7or unalterable course7 of nature1 that the world was brilliant as ever before2 unless that somethings were placed out of their former order4 #cc4 ,the ever lasting vedas ever retain their same force and sense1 and never did they feel the shock of change1 by the revolution of ages or even at the kalpnta dissolution of the world4 #cd4 ,sometimes the demons have despoiled1 some parts of the heavenly abodes of gods2 and sometimes the paradise of ,eden 7udyna71 resounded with the songs of ,gandharvas and ,kinnaras4 7,hence some part of the ,himlayas1 is said to have been the site of the garden of paradise74 #ce4 ,sometimes an amity was formed between the gods and giants1 and ,i saw in this manner1 the past1 present1 and future commotions of the world4 #cf4 ,i then beheld in the person of the great soul of worlds1 7i4e4 in the face of nature which is the body of ,god72 the meeting of the ,pushkara and ,avarta clouds together4 #cg4 ,there was an assemblage of all created things1 in peaceful union with one another in one place2 and there was a joint concussion1 of the gods1 and demigods and sovereigns of men1 in the one and same person4 #ch4 ,there was the union of the sunlight and deep darkness in the same place1 without their destroying one another2 and there were the dark clouds1 and their flashing lightnings also in the very place4 #ci4 ,there were the demons ,madhu and ,kaitabha1 residing together in the same navel-string of ,brahm2 and there were the infant ,brahm and the lotus bud in the same navel of ,vishnu4 #dj4 ,in the ocean of the universal deluge1 where ,mdhava 7the divine spirit71 floated on the leaf of the bata tree 7ficus religiosus72 there reigned the chaotic night along with him1 and spread its darkness over the face of the deep4 #da4 ,there was then but one vast void1 wherein all things remained unknown and undefined1 as if they lay buried and asleep1 in the unconscious womb of a stony grave4 #db4 ,nothing could be known or inferred of anything in existence1 but everything seemed to be submerged in deep sleep every where2 and the sky was filled by darkness1 resembling the wingless crows and unwinged mountains of old4 #dc4 ,on one side the loud peals of thunder1 were breaking down the mountains1 and melting them by the fire of the flashing lightnings2 and in another1 the overflowing waters were sweeping away the earth into the deep4 #dd4 ,in certain places there were the warfares of the giants1 as those of ,tripura1 ,vritra1 ,andha1 and ,val1 and in others there were terrible earthquakes1 owing to the trepidation of the furious elephant in the regions below4 7,this elephant is said so be one of the supports of the earth74 #de4 ,on one hand the earth was tottering on the thousand hoods on the infernal serpent ,vsuki1 which trembled with fear at the kalpnta deluge of the world2 and on the other the young ,rma killing the ,rkshas1 with their leader ,rvana 7an event which was yet to occur74 #df4 ,on one side was ,rma foiled by his adversary ,rvana2 and ,i saw these wonders1 now standing upon my legs on earth1 and then lifting my head above the mountain tops4 #dg4 ,i saw kla-nemi invading the sky one side1 where he stationed the demons1 by ousting the gods from their heavenly seats4 #dh4 ,in one place ,i found the ,asuras foiled by the gods1 who preserved the people from their terror2 and in another the victorious son of ,pandu--,arjuna1 protecting the world from the oppression of ,kauravas1 with the aid of lord ,vishnu4 ,i saw also the slaughter of millions of men in the ,bharatic war4 #di4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 how ,i had been before in another age1 and who had been these ,pandavas and ,kauravas too1 that existed before me4 7,wheeler in his ,india dates the ,pandavas prior to ,rma74 #ej4 ,vasishtha replied3--,rma6 all things are destined to revolve and return1 over and over again as they had been before4 7,in the same manner as the impressions in the mind1 recur repeatedly to it every where2 and the present state of the world1 is no more than a reminiscence of the past ones74 #ea4 ,as a basket is filled repeatedly with grains of the same kind1 or mixed sometimes1 with some other sorts in it2 so the very same thoughts and ideas1 with their self-same or other associations1 recur repeatedly in our minds4 #eb4 ,our ideas occur to us in the shape of their objects1 as often as the waters of the sea run in their course1 in the form of waves beating upon the banks2 and thus our thoughts of ourselves1 yourselves and others1 frequently revert to our minds4 #ec4 ,there never comes any thought of anything1 whereof we had no previous idea in the mind2 and though some of them seem to appear in a different shape1 it is simply owing to our misapprehension of them1 as the same sea water seems to show the various shapes of its waves4 #ed4 ,again there is a delusion1 that presents us many appearances which never come to existence2 and it is this which shows us an infinite train of things1 coming in and passing and disappearing like magic shows 7or my7 in this illusive world4 #ee4 ,the same things and others also of different kinds1 appear and reappear unto us in this way 7either by our reminiscence of them1 or by illusion of our minds74 #ef4 ,know all creatures1 as drops of water in the ocean of the world2 and are composed of the period of their existence1 their respective occupations1 understanding and knowledge2 and accompanied by their friends and properties and other surroundings4 #eg4 ,all beings are born1 with every one of these properties at their very birth2 but some possess them in equal or more or less shares1 in comparison with others4 7,that some are and must be greater 7or less7 than the rest4 ,pope74 #eh4 ,but all beings differ in these respects1 according to the different bodies in which they are born2 and though some are equal to others1 in many of these respects1 yet they come to vary in them in course of time4 #ei4 ,being at last harassed in their different pursuits1 all beings attain either to higher or lower states in their destined times2 and then being shackled to the prison houses of their bodies1 they have to pass through endless varieties of births in various forms4 ,thus the drops of living beings1 have to roll about in the whirlpool of the vast ocean of worldly life1 for an indefinite period of time1 which no body can gainsay or count4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxvii4 ,,the ,,infinity ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,shown ,,in ,,the ,,material ,,body4 ,argument3--,in the preceding chapter the world was shewn to consist in thought or a grain of the brain2 in this it is demonstrated to be contained in the body or an atom of dust4 ,vasishtha continued3--,afterwards as ,i directed my attention to my own body for a while2 ,i saw the undecaying and infinite spirit of ,god 7lit4--the vacuous ,intellect1 surrounding every part of my material frame74 #b4 ,pondering deeply1 ,i saw the world was seated within my heart1 and shooting forth therein2 as the grains put out their sprouts in a granary1 by help of the rain water dropping into it4 #c4 ,i beheld the formal world1 with all its sentient as well as insensitive beings1 rising out of the formless heart1 resembling the shapeless embryo of the seed 7i4e4 the plastic nature from the amorphous spirit71 by moisture of the ground4 #d4 ,as the beauty of the visibles appears to view1 on one's coming to sense after his sleep2 so it is the intellect only which gives sensation to one1 who is waking or just risen from his sleep3 7and so it was the intellectual wakefulness of ,vasishtha and other inspired men1 which made them sensible of outward objects1 even in the trance of their meditation74 7,samdhi74 #e4 ,so there is conception of creation in the self-same soul1 ere its formation or bringing into action2 and the forms of creations are contained in the vacuum of the heart1 and in no other separate vacuity whatever4 #f4 ,rma rejoined3--,sir1 your assertion of the vacuum of the heart1 made me take it in the sense of infinite space of vacuity1 which contains the whole creation2 but please to explain to me more clearly1 what you mean by your intellectual vacuum1 which you say1 is the source of the world4 7i4e4 whether the heart or mind or infinite space1 is the cause and container of the cosmos74 #g4 ,vasishtha replied3--,hear ,rma1 how ,i thought myself once in my meditation1 as the self-born ,swayambhu or the god who is born of himself1 in whom subsisted the whole1 and there was nothing born but by and from him2 and how ,i believed the unreal as real in my revelry1 or as an air-built-castle in my dreaming4 #h4 ,as ,i had been looking before1 at that sight of the great kalpa-dissolution1 with my aeriform spiritual body2 ,i found and felt the other part of my person 7i4e4 my material frame71 was likewise infused with the same sensibility and consciousness4 7,the body being the counter part or rchauff of the mind74 #i4 ,as ,i looked at it for a while1 with my spiritual part2 ,i found it as purely aerial1 and imbued with a slight consciousness of itself4 7,so says the ,sruti3--,in the beginning the spirit became or produced the air with its oscillation74 #aj4 ,the vacuous ,intellect found this elastic substance1 to be of such a subtile and rarefied nature1 as when you see the external objects in your dream1 or remember the objects of your dream upon your waking4 #aa4 ,this etherial air1 having its primary powers of chit and samvid--intellect and conscience1 becomes the intellection and consciousness also2 then from its power of reflecting 7on its existence in space and time71 it takes the name of reflection 7chittam74 ,next from its knowledge of itself as air1 it becomes the airy egoism1 and then it takes the name of buddhi or understanding1 for its knowledge of itself as plastic nature1 and forgetfulness of its former spirituality4 ,at last it becomes the mind1 from its minding many things that it wills or nils4 #ab4 ,then from its powers of perception and sensation it becomes the five senses1 to which are added their fivefold organs2 upon the perversion of the nice mental perceptions to grossness4 #ac4 ,as a man roused from his sound sleep1 is subject to flimsy dreams2 so the pure soul losing its purity upon its entrance in the gross body1 is subjected to the miseries that are concomitant with it4 #ad4 ,then the infinite world2 appearing at once and at the same time 7before the view of the mind and outer sight1 both in state of dream and on waking72 it is said to be an act of spontaneity by some1 and that of consecution by others4 7,some texts say3 ,god willed17 and it was 7so aikshata1 fiatet fit1 kunfa kn c472 while others represent the world to be not the work of a day1 but of many consecutive days4 7,such as so atapshata--,god laboured and rested from his labour74 #ae4 ,i conceived the whole 7space and time71 in the minutiae of my mind2 and being myself as empty air1 thought the material world1 to be contained in me in the form of intelligence4 #af4 ,as it is the nature of vacuum1 to give rise to the current air2 so it is natural to the mind1 to assign a form and figure to all its ideas1 by the power of its imagination 7whence it is called the creative mind1 or inventive imagination1 that gives a shape to airy nothing74 #ag4 ,whatever imaginary form1 our imagination gives to a thing at first1 there is no power in the mind to remove it any more from it4 #ah4 ,hence ,i believed myself as a minute atom1 although ,i knew my soul to be beyond all bounds2 and because ,i had the power of thinking1 ,i thought myself as the thinking mind1 and no more4 7,so one knowing himself as the body1 at once knows him to be a corporeal being only2 as the lion thinking himself as a sheep1 bleated and grazed as one of them4 ,so we forget our higher nature74 #ai4 ,then with my subtile body of pure intelligence1 ,i thought myself as a spark of fire2 and by thinking so for a long time1 ,i became at length of the form of a gross body4 7,the angels are to be of a bright and fiery body 7muri and atashi71 and the human body to be of a gross and earthy substance 7khaki and martya774 #bj4 ,i then felt a desire of seeing all what existed about me1 and had the power of sight immediately supplied to my gross body4 7,just as a child coming out as blind1 deaf and dumb from the embryo1 has the powers of seeing and hearing and crying1 immediately furnished to it afterwards7 7so says ,adam in ,milton1 8,as ,i came to life1 ,i looked at this light and beautiful frame074 #ba4 ,in this manner ,i felt other desires1 and had their corresponding senses and organs given to me2 and ,i will tell you now1 ,o race of ,raghu1 their names and functions and objects1 as they are known amongst you4 #bb4 ,the two holes of my face through which ,i began to see1 are termed the two eyes with their function of sight2 and having for their objects the visible phenomena of nature4 #bc4 ,when ,i see that ,i call time1 and as ,i see that is called its manner2 the place where ,i see an object is simple vacuity1 and the duration of the sight is governed by destiny4 #bd4 ,the place where ,i am situated1 is said to be my location2 and when ,i think or affirm any thing1 that ,i say the present time2 and as long ,i feel the twinkling of my intellect1 so long do ,i know myself as the intellectual cause of my action4 #be4 ,when ,i see anything1 ,i have its perception in me2 and ,i have my conviction also1 that what ,i behold with my two eyes1 are not empty vacuity1 but of a substantial nature4 #bf4 ,the organs wherewith ,i saw and felt the world in me1 are these two eyes--the keys to the visible world2 then ,i felt the desire of hearing1 what was going about me1 and it was my own soul1 which prompted this desire in me4 7,sensible perceptions are the natural appetites of the soul1 and finding their way through the external organs of sense74 #bg4 ,i then heard a swelling sound1 as that of a sonorous conch2 and reaching to me through the air1 where it is naturally born and through which it passes4 #bh4 ,the organs by which ,i heard the sound1 are these two ears of mine2 it is born by the air to ear1 and then enters the earholes with a continuous hissing4 #bi4 ,i then felt in me the desire of feeling1 and the organ whereby ,i came to it1 is called the touch or skin4 #cj4 ,next ,i came to know the medium1 whereby ,i had the sensation of touch in my body2 and found it was the air which conveyed that sense to me 7i4e4 from the object to the skin74 #ca4 ,as ,i remained sensible of the property of feeling or touch in me1 ,i felt the desire of taste within myself1 and had there upon the organ of tasting given to me4 #cb4 ,then my vacuous self1 contracted the property of smelling1 by the air of its breath1 ,i had thereby the sense of smelling given to me1 through the organs of my nostrils4 ,being thus furnished with all the organs of sense1 ,i found myself to be imperfect still 7because none of them could lead me to the knowledge of the truth74 #cc4 ,being thus confined in the net of my senses1 ,i found my sensual appetite increasing fast in me 7and the possession of sensuous perceptions 7vidah71 tending to no conscientious verity samvidah74 #cd4 ,the bodily sensations of sound1 form1 taste1 touch and smell1 are all formless and untrue1 and though appear to be actual and true2 yet they are really false and untrue4 #ce4 ,as ,i remained ensnared in the net of my senses1 and considered myself a sensible being2 ,i felt my egoism in me1 as that with which ,i am now addressing to you4 #cf4 ,the sense of egoism growing strong and compact1 takes the name of the understanding2 and this being considered and mature1 comes to be designated as the mind4 #cg4 ,being possessed of my eternal senses1 ,i pass for a sentient being2 and having my spiritual body and soul1 ,i pass as an intellectual being in a vacuous form4 #ch4 ,i am more rare and vacuous than the air itself1 and am as the empty void itself2 ,i am devoid of all shapes and figures1 and am irrepressible in my nature4 #ci4 ,as ,i remained at that spot1 with this conviction of myself2 ,i found myself endowed with a body1 and it was as ,i took me to be4 #dj4 ,with this belief 7of my being an embodied being71 ,i began to utter sounds2 and these sounds were as void1 as those of man1 dreaming himself as flying in the air in his sleep4 #da4 ,this was the sound of a new born babe1 uttering the sacred syllable om at first2 and thence it has become the custom to pronounce this word1 in the beginning of sacred hymn4 #db4 ,then ,i uttered some words as those of a sleeping person1 and these words are called the vyahrites1 which are now used in the ,gyatr hymn4 #dc4 ,methought ,i now became as ,brahm1 the author and lord of creation2 and then with my mental part or mind1 ,i thought of the creation in my imagination4 #dd4 ,finding myself so as containing the mundane system within me1 ,i thought ,i was not a created being at all2 because ,i saw the worlds in my own body1 and naught besides without it4 #de4 ,thus the world being produced1 within this mind of mine2 ,i turned to look minutely into it1 and found there was nothing in reality1 except an empty void4 #df4 ,so it is with all these worlds that you see1 which are mere void1 and no other than your imagination of them2 and there is no reality whatever1 in the existence of this earth and all other things that you see4 #dg4 ,the worlds appear as the waters of the mirage1 before the sight and to the knowledge of our consciousness2 there is nothing outside the mind1 and the mind sees every thing1 in the pure vacuity of the divine mind4 #dh4 ,there is no water in the sandy desert1 and yet the mind thinks it sees it there2 so the deluded sight of our understanding1 sees the baseless objects of delusion1 in the burning and barren waste of infinite void4 #di4 ,thus there is no world in reality in the divine spirit1 and yet the erring mind of man1 sees it erroneously to be situated therein2 it is all owing to the delusion of human understanding1 which naturally leads us to groundless errors and fallacies4 7,errors in the mind breed errors in thoughts74 #ej4 ,the unreal appears1 as the real extended world to the mind2 in the same manner as the imaginary utopia appears before it1 and as a city is seen in the dream of a sleeping man4 #ea4 ,as one knows nothing of the dream of another sleeping by his side1 without being able to penetrate into his mind2 while the yogi sees it clearly1 by his power of prying into the hearts of others4 #eb4 ,so doth one know this world1 who can penetrate into the mundane stone2 where it represented as the reflexion of some thing in a mirror1 which in reality is nothing at all4 #ec4 ,and although the world appears1 as an elemental substance to the naked eye2 yet when it is observed in its true light1 it disappears like the ,otaria of the polar region1 which is hidden under ever lasting darkness4 #ed4 ,he who views the creation with his spiritual body1 and with his eyes of discernment1 finds it full of the immaculate spirit of ,god1 which comprehends and pervades throughout the whole4 #ee4 ,the percipient or judicious eye1 sees the extinction or absence of the world every where2 because they have the presence of the ,divine ,spirit alone before their view1 and naught that is not the spirit and therefore nothing4 #ef4 ,whatever is perceived by the clear-sighted 7yogi71 by his conclusive reasoning2 that transcendent truth is hard to be seen by the triple-eyed ,siva1 or even by the god ,indra with his thousand eyes4 #eg4 ,but as ,i looked into the vacuity of the sky1 replete with its myriads of luminous bodies2 so ,i beheld the earth full with the variety of its productions2 and then ,i began to reflect in myself1 that ,i was the lord of all below 7and even as ,brahm himself74 #eh4 ,then thinking myself as the master of the earth1 ,i became amalgamated with the earth as if it were one with myself2 and having forsaken my vacuous intellectual body1 ,i thought myself as the sovereign of the whole4 #ei4 ,believing myself as the support and container of this earth1 ,i penetrated deep into its bowels2 and thought all its hidden mines were parts of myself1 so ,i took whatever it contained both below and above it to be self same with me4 #fj4 ,being thus warped in the form of the earth1 ,i became changed to all its forests and woods1 which grew as hairs on its body4 ,my bowels were full of jewels and gems1 and my back was decorated by many a city and town4 #fa4 ,i was full of villages and valleys1 of hills and dales1 and of infernal regions and caverns2 ,i thought ,i was the great mountain chain1 and connected the seas and their islands on either side4 #fb4 ,the grassy verdure was the hairy cover of my body1 and the scattered hills as pimples on it2 and the great mountain tops1 were as the crests of my coronet1 or as the hundred heads of the infernal snake 7,vsuki74 #fc4 ,this earth which was freely enjoined by all living beings1 came to be parcelled by men and at last oppressed by belligerent kings1 and worsted by their lines of fighting elephants4 #fd4 ,the great mountains of ,imaus1 ,vindhya and ,sumeru1 had all their tops decorated with the falling streams of ,ganges and others1 sparkling as their pearly necklaces4 #fe4 ,the caves and forests1 the seas and their shores1 furnished it with beautiful scenes2 and the desert and marsh lands1 supplied it with clean linen garments4 #ff4 ,the ancient waters of the deluge1 have receded to their basins1 and left the pure inland reservoirs1 decorated by flowery banks1 and perfumed by the odorous dust of falling flowers4 #fg4 ,the earth is ploughed daily by bullocks1 and sown in the dewy and cold season2 it is heated by the solar heat1 and moistened by rain water4 #fh4 ,the wide level land or plain1 is its broad breast2 the lotus-lakes its eyes1 the white and black clouds are its turbans1 and the canopy of heaven is its dwelling4 #fi4 ,the great hollow under the polar mountain1 forms its wide open mouth2 and the breathing of animated nature1 makes the breath of its life4 #gj4 ,it is surrounded all about1 and filled in its inside1 by beings of various kinds2 it is peopled by the devas1 demons and men on the outside1 and inhabited by worms and insects in its inner parts4 #ga4 ,it is infested in the organic poles and cells of its body1 by snakes1 ,asuras and reptiles2 and peopled in all its oceans and seas1 with aquatic animals of various kinds4 #gb4 ,it is filled in all its various parts with animal1 vegetable and mineral substances of infinite varieties2 and it is plenteous with provisions for the sustenance of all sorts of beings4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxviii4 ,,further ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,earth4 ,argument3--,relation of other wonders1 which ,vasishtha in his earthly body4 ,vasishtha related3--,hear ye men1 what ,i conceived afterwards in my consciousness1 as ,i had been looking in my form of the earth1 and considered the rivers running in my body4 #b4 ,i beheld in one place a number of women1 lamenting loudly on the death of some body2 and saw also the great rejoicing of certain females1 on the occasion of their festive mirth4 #c4 ,i saw a direful dearth and famine in one place1 with the rapine and plunder of the people2 and ,i beheld the profusion of plenty in another1 and the joy and friendliness of its people4 #d4 ,in one place ,i saw a great fire1 burning down every thing before me2 and in another a great flood deluging over the land1 and drowning its cities and towns1 in one common ruin4 #e4 ,i beheld a busy body of soldiers somewhere1 plundering a city and carrying away their booty2 and ,i observed the fierce raxas and goblins1 bent on afflicting and oppressing the people4 #f4 ,i saw the beds of waters brimful with water1 and running out to water and fertilize the land all around2 ,i saw also masses of clouds issuing from mountain caverns1 and tossed and borne by the winds afar and aloft in the sky 7to pour their rains in other quarters74 #g4 ,i saw the out pourings of rain-water1 the uprising of verdure1 and the land smiling with plenty2 and ,i felt within myself a delight1 which made the hairs on my body stand upright2 7as if they were the rising shoots of plants growing out of my body74 #h4 ,i saw also many places1 having hills1 forests and habitations of men2 and also deep and dreadful dens1 with wild beasts1 bees in them4 ,here there were no foot prints of human beings1 who avoid those places1 for fear of falling in those diresome caves4 #i4 ,some places ,i saw1 where warfares were waged between hostile hosts1 and some others also1 where the armies were sitting at ease1 and gladsome conversation with one another4 #aj4 ,i saw some places full of forests1 and others of barren deserts with tornadoes howling in them2 and ,i saw marshy grounds1 with repeated cultivations and crops in them4 #aa4 ,i saw clear and purling lakes1 frequented by cranes and herons1 and smiling with blooming lotuses in them2 and ,i saw likewise barren deserts1 with heaps and piles of grey dust1 collected together by the blowing breezes4 #ab4 ,i saw some places where the rivers were running1 and rolling and gurgling in their sport2 and at others1 the grounds were moistened and sown1 and shooting forth in germs and sprouts4 #ac4 ,i saw also in many places1 little insects and worms moving slowly in the ground2 and appeared to me to be crying out1 ,o sage1 save us from this miserable state4 #ad4 ,i saw the big banian tree1 rooting its surrounding branches in the ground2 and ,i saw many parasite plants growing on and about these rooted branches4 #ae4 ,huge trees were growing in some places1 upon rocks and mountain tops2 and these embracing one another with their branching arms1 were shaking like the billows of the sea4 #af4 ,i saw the raging sun darting his drying rays1 and drawing the moisture of the shady trees2 and leaving them to stand with their dried trunks1 and their withered and leafless branches4 #ag4 ,i saw the big elephants dwelling on the summits of mountains1 piercing the sturdy oaks with the strokes of their tusks1 which like the bolts of ,indra1 broke down and felled and hurted them with hideous noise below4 #ah4 ,there grew in some places1 many a tender sprout1 of plants1 shooting forth with joy as the green blades of grass2 or as the erect hairs of horripilation rising on the bodies of saints1 enrapt in their reveries and sitting with their closed eyelids4 #ai4 ,i saw the resorts of flies and leeches and gnats in the dirt1 and of bees and black bees on the petals of lotus flowers2 and ,i saw big elephants destroying the lotus bushes1 as the plough-share overturns the furrows of earth4 #bj4 ,i saw the excess of cold1 when all living beings were shrivelled and withered in their bodies2 when the waters were congealed to stone1 and the keen and cold blasts chilled the blood of men4 #ba4 ,i have seen swarms of weak insects1 to be crushed to death under the feet of men2 and many diving and swimming and skimming in the waters below1 and others to be born and growing therein4 #bb4 ,i have seen how the water enters in the seeds1 and moistens them in the rainy season2 and these put forth their hairy shoots on the out side1 which grow to plants in the open air4 #bc4 ,i smile with the smiling lotuses1 when they are slightly shaken in their beds by the gentle winds of heaven2 and ,i parade with the gliding of rivers1 to the ocean of eternity for final extinction4 7i4e4 ,as the river bearing all things is lost in the ocean2 so doth the human body become extinct in the ,deity1 with the world that it contains within itself74 ,,chapter ,,lxxxix4 ,,the ,,phenomenal ,,as ,,the ,,reproduction ,,of ,,reminiscence4 ,argument3--,the situation of the ,world in the womb of the ,vacuous ,intellect2 and its outward appearance as the ,imagination of the ,mind4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 whether in your curiosity to observe the mutations of earthly things and affairs1 you beheld them in their earthly shapes with your corporeal body2 or saw them in their ideal forms1 in the imagination of your mind4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it was in my mind1 that ,i thought myself to have become the great earth2 and all what ,i saw as visible1 being but simple conceptions of the mind1 could not possibly have a material form4 #c4 ,it is impossible for the surface of the earth to exist1 without its conception in the mind2 whatever thou knowest either as real or unreal1 know them all as the work of your mind4 #d4 ,i am the pure vacuous ,intellect1 and it is that which is the essence of my soul2 it is the expansion of this intellectual soul1 which is called its will also4 7,this will is the eternal predicate of the ,divine ,spirit74 #e4 ,it is this which becomes the mind and the creative power ,brahm1 and takes the form of the world and this earth also2 and this vacuous mind being composed of its desires1 assumes to itself whatever form it likes to take4 #f4 ,it was thus that my mind stretched itself at that time1 and put forth its desires in all those forms as it liked3 and from its habitual capacity of containing every thing1 it evolved itself in the shape of the wide-stretched earth4 #g4 ,hence the sphere of the earth1 is no other than the evolution of the selfsame mind2 it is but an unintelligent counterpart of the intelligent intellect4 #h4 ,being thus a void in itself1 it continues to remain forever as such in the infinite void2 but by being considered as a solid substance by the ignorant1 they have altogether forgotten its intellectual nature4 #i4 ,the knowledge that this globe of earth is stable1 solid and extended1 is as false as the general impression of blueness in the clear and vacuous firmament1 and this is the effect of a deeprooted bias in the minds of men4 #aj4 ,it is clear from this argument1 that there is no such thing as the stable earth2 it is of the same ideal form as it was conceived in the mind1 at the first creation of the world4 7,the primary idea of creation is of its subtile and not gross form4 8,and the earth was without form and void074 #aa4 ,as the city is situated in a dream1 and the intellect resides in vacuity2 so the ,divine ,intellect dwelt in the form of the creation in the very vacuum4 #ab4 ,know the three worlds in their intellectual light1 likening the aerial palace of puerile fancy and hobby2 and know this earth and all visible appearances1 to be the creatures of imagination4 #ac4 ,the world is the ectype city or reproduction of the intellectual ,spirit of ,god1 and not a different kind of production of the ,divine ,will2 it is in fact no real or positive existence at all1 although it may appear as solid and substantial to the ignorant4 #ad4 ,the unreal visible world is known only to the ignorant1 who are unacquainted with its real intellectual nature1 and it is he only that is acquainted with its true nature1 who knows well what ,i have been preaching to you ere long4 #ae4 ,all this is the intellection of the ,divine ,intellect1 and manifestation of the supreme self in itself2 the visible world which appears as some thing other than the supreme soul1 is inherent in the very soul4 7,all this being selfsame with the ,divine spirit1 it is exempt from the imputation of its duality or unity with it74 #af4 ,as a gemming stone exhibits of itself1 the various hues of white1 yellow and others1 without their being infused therein2 so the ,divine ,intellect shows this creation in all its various aspects within its vacuous sphere4 #ag4 ,whereas the spirit neither does anything1 nor changes its nature 7on account of its immutability72 therefore this earth is neither a mental nor material production of it 7but a phantasmagoria only74 #ah4 ,the vacuous ,intellect appears as the surface of the earth1 but it is of itself without any depth or breadth1 and transparent in its surface 7wherefore it is not the fathomable or opaque body of the earth74 #ai4 ,it is of its own nature1 that it shows itself as anything wherever it is situated2 and though it is as clear as the open air1 yet it appears as the earth1 by its universal inherence into and pervasion over all things4 #bj4 ,this terraqueous orb1 appearing as something other than the ,great ,intellect2 appears in the very form as it pictured in the mind1 like the shapes of things appearing in our dream 7agreeably to their forms preserved in our memory74 #ba4 ,the world subsists in the vacuous spirit1 and the ,divine ,spirit being vacuous also1 there is no difference in them1 it is the ignorant soul which makes the difference1 but it vanishes at once before the intelligent soul4 #bb4 ,all material beings1 that have been or are to be in the three past1 present and future times2 are mere errors of vision1 like the false appearances in our dreams1 and the air built cities of imagination4 #bc4 ,the beings that are existent at present1 and such as are to come into existence in future2 and the earth itself1 are of the same nature of an universal fallacy1 in lieu of the ,divine spirit pervading the whole4 #bd4 ,i myself and all others that are included in this world1 have the visible perceptions of all things as they are preserved in our reminiscence4 #be4 ,know ,rma the ,divine ,intellect only1 as the supreme soul and undecaying essence of all existence2 and this it is that sustains the whole in its person1 without forsaking its spirituality4 ,knowing therefore the whole world as contained in thyself1 which is not different from the supreme soul1 thou shalt be exempt and liberated from all4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxx4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,watery ,,creation4 ,argument3--,description of the ,waters and ,islands on the surface of the ,earth1 and ,watery things in all nature4 ,rma ,said3--,tell me ,sir1 what other things 7lit4--worlds71 you saw on the surface of the earth4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,with my waking soul1 ,i thought as it were in my sleep that ,i was assimilated to land1 and saw many groups of lands scattered this earth3 ,i saw them in my mysterious vision1 and then reflected them in my mind4 #c4 ,as ,i beheld those groups of lands1 lying every where before my intellectual vision2 the outer world receded from my sight1 all dualities were quite lost and hushed in my tranquil soul4 #d4 ,i saw those groups as so many spots1 lying in the expanded spirit of ,brahma2 which was a perfect void1 quite calm1 and inert to all agitations4 #e4 ,i saw every where large tracts1 as great and solid as the earth itself3 but found them in reality to be nothing more1 than the empty dreams appearing in the vacant mind4 #f4 ,here there was no diversity nor uniformity neither1 nor was there any entity or nihility either2 there was no sense of my egoism also1 but all blinded in an indefinite void4 #g4 ,and though ,i conceived myself to be something in existence2 yet ,i perceived it had no personality of its own1 and its entity depended on that of one sole ,brahma1 who is increate and ever undecaying 7or never decays74 #h4 ,thus these sights being as appearances of dream1 in the empty space of the intellect2 it is not known how and in what form they were situated in the divine mind1 before they were exhibited in creation4 #i4 ,now as ,i saw those tracts of land in the form of so many worlds1 so ,i beheld large basins of water also 7surrounding them on all sides74 #aj4 ,then my active spirit1 became as the inert element of water in many a great 7or reservoirs of water72 and these are called as seas and oceans1 in which lay and played with a gurgling noise4 #aa4 ,these waters are incessantly gliding on1 bearing upon them loads of grass and straw1 and bushes of plants and shrubs and trunks of trees2 which float upon them1 as the bugs and leeches crawl and creep on your body4 #ab4 ,these are borne by the circling waters1 like small insects and worms into the crevices of waves2 and thence hurled into the womb of the whirlpools1 whose depth is beyond all comparison4 #ac4 ,the currents of the waters were gliding1 with the leaves and fruits of trees in their mouths2 while the floating creepers and branches1 described the encircling necklaces about them4 #ad4 ,again the drinkable water being taken by the mouth1 goes into the hearts of living beings2 and produces different effects on the humours of animal bodies1 according to their properties at different seasons4 #ae4 ,again it is this water which descends in the form of dews1 sleeps on leafy beds in the shape of icicles1 and shines under the 7moon-beams on all sides71 all the time and without interruption4 #af4 ,it runs with irresistible course to many a lake and brook as its home1 it flows in the currents of rivers1 unless it is stopped by some bridge or embankment4 #ag4 ,the waters of the sea like ignorant men on earth1 ran up and down in search of the proper course2 but failing to find the same1 they tumbled and turned about in eddies and whirlpools 7of doubts74 #ah4 ,i saw the water on the mountain-top1 which thought it rested on high1 yet it fell owing to its restlessness in the form of a water-fall in the cataract1 where it was dashed to a thousand splashes4 7,so ,i found myself to be hurled down by my sins1 from my high position in heaven1 to a thousand devious paths on earth74 #ai4 ,i saw the water rising from the earth in the form of vapour on high1 and then mixing with the blue ocean of the azure sky1 or appearing as blue sapphires among the twinkling stars of heaven4 #bj4 ,i saw the waters ascending and riding on the back of the clouds1 and there joining with the lightnings as their hidden consorts1 shining as the cerulean god ,vishnu1 mounted on the back of the hoary serpent--,vsuki4 #ba4 ,i found this water both in the atomic and elementary creations1 as well as in all gross bodies on earth1 and ,i found it lying unperceived in the very grain of all things1 as the omnipresent ,brahma inheres in all substances4 #bb4 ,this element resides in the tongue2 which perceives the flavour of things from their particles1 and conveys the sense to the mind4 ,hence ,i ween the feeling of taste relates to the soul and its perception1 and not to the sensibility of the body4 7,the ,divine ,spirit is said to be flavour--rasovaitat1 and it is the human soul only that perceives it74 #bc4 ,i did not taste this spiritual savour1 by means of the body or any of its organs2 it is felt in the inner soul only1 and not by the perceptions of the mind1 which are misleading and therefore false and unreal4 #bd4 ,there is this flavour scattered on all sides1 in the sapidity of the season's fruits and flowers2 ,i have tasted them all and left the flowers to be sucked by the bees and butterflies4 #be4 ,again the sentient soul abides in the form of this liquid1 in the bodies and limbs of all the fourteen kinds of living bodies 7in some of which it appears in the form of red hot blood74 #bf4 ,it assumes the form of the showers of rain1 and mounts on the back of the driving winds2 and then it fills the whole atmosphere1 with a sweet aromatic fragrance4 7,this sweet scent is called in ,bengali 1 which is a corruption of swdu or sweet74 #bg4 ,rma6 remaining in that state of my sublimated abstraction1 ,i perceived the particulars of the world in each individual and particular particle4 #bh4 ,remaining unknown to and unseen by any body1 ,i perceived the properties of all things1 as ,i marked those of water1 with this my sensible body1 appearing as gross matter4 #bi4 ,thus ,i saw thousands of worlds1 and the repeated rising and fallings1 like the leaves of plantain trees 7or rather the barks of those trees1 which grow upon and envelop one another74 #cj4 ,thus did this material world1 appear to me in its immaterial form2 as a creation of the ,intellect1 and presenting a pure and vacuous aspect4 #ca4 ,the phenomenal is nothing1 and it is its mental perception only that we have all of this world2 and this also vanishes into nothing1 when we know this all to be a mere void4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxi4 ,,description ,,of ,,igneous1 ,,luminous ,,and ,,brilliant ,,objects ,,in ,,nature4 ,argument3--,vasishtha's ,identity of his soul with light1 and his observation of it in all lightsome substances4 ,vasishtha related3--,i then believed myself as identical with light1 and beheld its various aspects in the luminous bodies of the sun and moon1 in the planets and stars1 and in fire and all shining objects4 #b4 ,this light has by its own excellence1 and it becomes the light of the universe2 it is as brilliant as the mighty monarch1 before whose all surveying sight1 the thievish darkness of night flies at a distance4 #c4 ,this light like a good prince1 takes upon it the likeness of lamps1 and reigns in the hearts of families and houses in a thousand shapes 7of chandeliers c471 to drive off the thievish night1 and restore the properties of all before their sight4 #d4 ,being glad to lighten all peoples 7worlds71 it enkindles the orbs of the sun1 moon and stars2 who with their rays and beams1 dispel afar the shade of night from the face of the skies4 #e4 ,it impoverishes the darkness1 that bereaves all beings from their view of the beauties of nature1 and dispenses the useful light1 which brings all to the sight of the visibles4 #f4 ,it employs the axe at the root of the nigrescent arbour of night1 and adds a purity and price to all things2 it is this that gives value to all metals minerals1 and makes them so dear to mankind4 #g4 ,it shows to view all sorts of colours1 as white1 red1 black and others4 ,it is light that is the cause of colours as the parent is the cause of the progeny4 #h4 ,this light is in great favour1 with every one upon this earth2 wherefore it is protected with great fondness in all houses1 as they foster their children in them1 by means of earthen walls 7in order to preserve them from inclement winds74 #i4 ,i beheld a slight light1 even in the darkness of the infernal region 7i4e4 the dismal hell fire72 and ,i saw it partly in the particles of dust1 which compose all bodies on the surface of the earth4 #aj4 ,i saw light1 which is the first and best of the works of ,god1 to be eternally present in the abodes of the celestial2 and observed it as the lamp of the mansion of this world1 which was the great deep of waters and darkness before4 78,and darkness reigned over the face of the deep074 #aa4 ,light is the mirror of the celestial nymphs of all the quarters of heaven 7i4e4 it shows and points out the face of the heavens to us72 it scatters like the winds the dust of frost from before the face of night1 it is the essence of the luminous bodies of the sun1 moon and fire1 and the cause of the red and bright hue of the face of heaven4 #ab4 ,it discloses the cornfields to day-light1 and ripens their corn1 by dispelling darkness from the face of the earth4 ,it washes also the glassy bowl of heaven1 and glitters in the dewy waters upon its face4 #ac4 ,it is by reason of its giving existence to1 and bringing to view all things in the world1 it is said to be the younger brother1 of the transcendent light of divine ,intellect4 7,the gross light is the reflexion of holy light74 #ad4 ,it is the light of the sun1 which is the reviver of the lotus bed of the actions of mortals2 and which is the life of living beings on earth2 it is the source of our sight of the forms of all things1 as the intellect is that of all our thoughts and perceptions4 #ae4 ,light decorates the face of the sky1 with numberless gems of shining stars2 and it is the solar light that makes the divisions of days1 months1 years and seasons in the course of time1 and makes them appear as the passing waves in the ocean of eternity4 #af4 ,this immense universe bears the appearance of the boundless ocean1 wherein the sun and moon are revolving as the rolling waves1 over the scum of this muddy earth4 #ag4 ,light is the brilliancy of gold1 and the colour of all metals2 it is the glitter of glass and gems1 the flash of lightnings1 and the vigour of men in general4 #ah4 ,it is moon shine in the nocturnal orb1 and the glittering of glancing eye lids2 it is the brightness of a smiling countenance1 and the sweetness of tender and affectionate looks4 #ai4 ,it gives significancy to the gestures1 of the face1 arms1 eyes and frownings of the eye-brows2 and it adds a blush to maiden faces1 from the sense of their invincibleness4 7,laughter spring from pride74 #bj4 ,the heat of this light1 makes the mighty to spurn the world as a straw1 and break the head of the enemy with a slap2 and strike the heart of the lion with awe4 #ba4 ,it is this heat which makes the hardy and bold combatants1 engage in mutual fighting with drawn and jangling swords2 and clad in armours clanking on their bodies4 #bb4 ,it gives the gods their antagonism against the demons1 and makes the demoniac races also antagonistic to the gods2 it gives vigour to all beings1 and causes the growth of the vegetable kingdom4 #bc4 ,all these appeared to me as the mirage in a desert1 and ,i beheld them as phantasms in my mind2 and this scene of the world was situated in the womb of vacuum1 and ,i beheld these sceneries1 ,o bright eyed ,rma1 all these sceneries seem to resemble the appearances of a phantasmagoria to me4 #bd4 ,i then beheld the glorious sun above1 stretching his golden rays to all the ten sides of the universe1 and himself flying as the phoenix in the sky2 and ,i saw also this speck of the earth1 resembling a villa beset by the walls of its mountains4 #be4 ,the sun turned about and lent his beams to the moon1 and to the submarine fire beneath the dark blue ocean2 and stood himself as the great lamp of the world on the stand of the meridian1 to give the light of the day4 #bf4 ,i saw the moon rising as the face of the sky1 with a lake of cooling and sweet nectar in it2 the moonlight appearing as the soft and sweet smile of the sable goddess of night1 and as the glow of the nightly stars4 #bg4 ,the moon is the comparison of all beautiful objects in the world1 and is the most beloved object at night1 of females1 and of the blue lotus1 and companion of the vesper or evening star4 #bh4 ,i beheld the twinkling stars likening to the clusters of flowers in the arbour of the skies1 and delighting the eyes and faces 7of their spectator72 and they appeared to me as flocks of butterflies1 flying in the fair field of the firmament4 #bi4 ,i saw many shining gems washed away by the waters1 and tossed about by the waving arms of the ocean2#c;and ,i saw many jewels also in the hands of jewellers1 and balanced by them in their scales4 #cj4 ,i looked into the submarine fire lying latent in the sea1 and the eddies whirling the silvery shrimps in the whirlpools1 ,i saw the golden rays of the sun1 shining as filaments of flowers upon the waters1 and ,i saw also the lightnings flashing in the midst of clouds4 7,there is a play upon the words abdhi and abda which mean the sea1 the eddy1 the marine fire1 the cloud c474 #ca4 ,i witnessed the auspicious sacrificial fire1 blazing with ineffable light2 and marked its burning flame1 splitting and cracking the sacred wood1 with a crackling and clattering noise4 #cb4 ,i saw the lustre of gold and other metals and minerals1 and ,i found also how they are reduced to ashes by the act of calcination1 like learned men overpowered by the clownish ignorant4 #cc4 ,i observed the brightness of pearls1 which gave them a place on the breasts of women in the form of necklaces2 as also on the necks and chests of men and giants1 and of ,gandharvas and chiefs of men4 #cd4 ,i beheld the firefly1 with which the beauties adorn their fore heads with bright spots2 but which are trod upon on the way by ignorant passers as worthless2 hence the value of things depends on their situation and not real worth4 #ce4 ,i saw the flickering lightning in the unmoving cloud1 and the fickle shrimps skimming upon the waters of the calm ocean2 ,i heard also the hoarse noise of whirlpools in the quiet and unsounding main1 and marked how restlessness consorted with restive and sedate4 #cf4 ,some times ,i saw the soft petals of flowers1 were used as lamps to light the bridal beds in the inner apartments4 #cg4 ,being then exhausted as the extinguished lamp1 ,i became as dark as collyrium2 and slept silently in my own cell1 like a tortoise with its contracted limbs4 #ch4 ,being tired with my travel throughout the universe1 at the kalpnta end of the world2 ,i remained fixed amidst the dark clouds of heaven1 as the elephant of ,rudra abides there in company with 7his lightning74 #ci4 ,at the end when the worlds were dissolved1 and the waters were absorbed by the submarine fires2 ,i kept myself dancing in the etherial space1 which devoid of its waters4 #dj4 ,sometimes ,i was borne on high by the burning fire1 with its teeth of the sparks and its flaming arms1 and its flying fumes resembling the dishevelled hairs on its head4 #da4 ,the conflagration burnt down the straw-built houses before it1 and fed upon the animal bodies on its way2 and consumed the eight kinds of wood1 that are ordained in sacrificial rites4 #db4 ,i saw the sparks of fire1 emitted by the strokes of hammer1 from the red hot iron of blacksmiths1 were rising and flying about like golden brickbats1 to hit the hammerer4 #dc4 ,in another place ,i saw the whole universe1 lying invisible for ages in the womb of stony mundane egg4 #dd4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 how you felt yourself in that state of confinement in the stone2 and whether it was a state of pleasure or pain1 to you and the rest of beings4 #de4 ,vasishtha replied3--,as when a man falls into sleep with the dulness of his senses1 and has yet his airy intellect fully awake in him2 so was that outward insensibility filled with intellectual sensibility4 7,so a man assimilating himself to ,brahma1 is full of his internal light and felicity74 #df4 ,the great ,brahma awakens the soul1 when the body lies as insensible as the dull earth2 so the sleeping man remaining in his torpid state1 has his internal soul full with the divine spirit 7which fills it with true intellectual delight sachchidnanda74 #dg4 ,because the earthly or corporeal body of man1 is verily a falsity and has no reality in it2 it appears as visual phantom to the sight of the spectator1 but in reality it is one with unchanged spirit of ,god4 #dh4 ,knowing this certain truth1 whoso views these all as an undivided whole2 sees the quintessence as one essence1 and the subjective and the objective as the same 7,lit43--,he does not fall into the blunder of the viewer and the view74 #di4 ,i then having assimilated myself to the pure spirit of ,brahma1 viewed all things in and as ,brahma1 because there is none beside ,brahma1 that is or can be or do anything from naught4 #ej4 ,when ,i viewed all these visibles as manifestation of the self-same ,brahma1 then ,i left myself also situated in the state of divinity of ,brahma himself4 #ea4 ,when on the other hand1 ,i reflected myself as combined with the pentuple material elements2 ,i found myself reduced to my dull nature1 and was incapable of my intellectual operation of excogitation1 and the conception of my higher nature4 #eb4 ,i thought myself as asleep1 notwithstanding my power of intellection 7which lay dormant in me72 and being thus overtaken by the conception of my sleepy insensibility1 how could ,i cogitate of anything otherwise2 which is of a transcendental nature4 #ec4 ,he whose soul is awakened by knowledge1 loses the sense of his corporeal body1 and raises himself to his tivhika or spiritual form1 by means of his purer understanding4 #ed4 ,a man having his sentient and spiritual body1 either in the form of a minute particle or larger size as one may wish1 remains perfectly liberated from the fetters of his body and his bondage in this world4 #ee4 ,with his intelligent and spiritual body1 a man is enabled to enter into the impenetrable heart of a hard stone1 or to rise to heaven above or descend to the regions below4 #ef4 ,hence1 ,o ,rma1 ,i having then that intelligent and subtile body of mine1 did all that ,i told you1 with my essence of infinite understanding4 #eg4 ,in my entrance into the hard stone1 and my passages up and down the high heaven and the nether world1 ,i experienced no difficulty from any side4 #eh4 ,with my subtile and intelligent body1 ,i passed every where1 and felt everything1 as ,i used to do with material body4 #ei4 ,one going of his own accord in one direction1 and wishing to go in another1 immediately finds himself even then and there1 by means of his spiritual body4 #fj4 ,know this spiritual and subtile body1 to be no other than your understanding only2 and now you can well perceive yourself to be of that imperishable form1 by means of your intelligence also4 #fa4 ,thinking one's self as the vacuous ,intellect1 abiding in the sun and all visible objects2 the spiritualist comes to know the existence of his self only1 and all else that is beside himself as nothing4 #fb4 ,but how is it possible to view the visible world as inexistent1 to which it is answered that it appears as real as the unreal dream to the sleeping person1 but vanishes into nothing upon his waking 7scholium74 ,reliance in the inexistent world1 is as the belief of the ignorant man in falsehoods2 and this reliance is confirmed by habit1 although it is not relied upon by others that know the truth4 #fc4 ,but this reliance is as vain as the vanity of our desires1 and the falsity of our aerial castle building2 all which are as false as the marks of waves1 left on the sea sands2 or as the marking of anything with a charcoal1 which is neither lasting nor perceptible to any body4 #fd4 ,we see the woodlands1 blooming with full blown flowers and blossoms2 but these sights are as deluding1 as the sparks of fire1 presenting the appearance of a flower garden in fire works4 #fe4 ,these pyrotechnical works1 which are prepared with so much labour2 burst on a sudden at the slight touch of fire1 and then they are blown away as soon1 as the prosperity of sharpers 7which is transient74 #ff4 ,rma1 ,i beheld the flourish of the world1 to be as false and fleeting1 as the appearance of light in the particles of dust2 all these appearing as so many things of themselves1 are in fact no other than the appearances of hills and cities1 in the vacuity of the mind in our dreams at sleep4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxii4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,current ,,air1 ,,as ,,the ,,universal ,,spirit4 ,argument3--,vasishtha's assuming the form of ,air1 and his finding its pervasion all over the world as its vital spirit4 ,vasishtha continued3--,now in my curiosity to know the world1 ,i thought myself as transformed to the form of the current air2 and by degrees extended my essence1 all over the infinite extent of the universe4 #b4 ,i became a breeze with a desire1 to view the beauty of the lovely plants all about me2 and to smell the sweetness of the fragrant blossoms of kunda1 jessamine as lotuses4 #c4 ,i bore about the coolness of the falling rains and snows and dew drops1 with a view to restore freshness to the languid limbs of the tired and weary labourer4 #d4 ,my spirit in the form of the current winds1 bore about the essences of medicinal plants and the fragrance of flowers2 and carried away the loads of grass1 herbs1 creepers and the leaves of plants all around4 #e4 ,my spirit travelled as the gentle zephyr1 in the auspicious hours of morn and eve2 to awaken and lull to sleep the lovely maids2 again it takes the tremendous shape of a tornado in tempest1 to break down and bear away the rocks4 #f4 ,in paradise it is florid1 with the reddish dust of mandra flowers2 in the mountains it is hoary with hoar frost and snows2 and in hell it burns in the infernal fires4 #g4 ,in the sea it has a curvilinear motion1 with the curling waves and revolving whirlpools2 and in heaven it bears aloft and moves the clouds1 both to cover and uncover the mirror of moon hid under them4 #h4 ,in heaven it has the name of the prabha air1 to hold aloft the starry frame2 and guide the course of the starry legions and the cars of their commanding generals--the post of ,gods4 #i4 ,it is accounted as the younger brother of thought1 owing to its great velocity2 it is formless but moveth over all forms2 and though intangible1 yet its touch is as delightsome1 as the cooling paste of sandal wood4 #aj4 ,it is hoary old with the hoar frost1 it bears on its head2 it is youthful with wafting the fragrance of vernal flowers1 and it is young when it is quiet and still4 #aa4 ,here it roves at large1 loaded with the fragrance of the garden of ,eden2 and there it moves freely bearing the perfumes of the grove of the ,gandharva ,chitra-ratha1 to tired persons and worn out lovers4 #ab4 ,though fatigued with its toil1 of raising and moving the incessant waves1 of the cooling and purifying stream of ,ganges2 yet it is ever alert to lull the toil of others1 being quite forgetful of its own weariness4 #ac4 ,it gently touches its brides of vernal plants1 bending down under the load of their full blown flowers2 which are ever shaking their leafy hands1 and flitting eyes of fluttering bees1 to resist its touch4 #ad4 ,the fleeting air buried its weariness in its soft bed of clouds2 after drinking dew drops exuding from the disc of the moon2 and being fanned by the cooling breath of lotuses 7growing in lakes of heaven74 #ae4 ,like the swiftest steed of ,indra1 he bears the farina of all flowers to him in heaven2 and becomes a compeer with ,indra's elephant1 who is giddy with the fragrance of his ichor4 #af4 ,then blew the winds1 with the soft breath of the shepherd's horns2 and drove away the clouds like cattle1 and blasted the showering rain drops2 that served to set down the dust of the earth4 #ag4 ,it is perfumed with the fragrance of flowers flying in the air1 and is the uterine brother of all sounds which proceed from the womb of vacuum 7which is the common source of wind and sound74 ,it runs in the blood and humours1 within the veins and arteries of bodies2 and is the mover of the limbs of persons4 #ah4 ,it dwells within the hearts of human bodies as their life1 and is the soul and sole cause of all their vital functions4 ,it is ever on its wing1 and being ubiquitous throughout the world1 it is acquainted with the secrets of all the works of ,brahm4 #ai4 ,it is the plunderer of the rich treasure of odours1 and the supporter of etherial cities2 it is the destroyer of heat and darkness as the moon1 and this air is the milky ocean1 that produces the fair and cooling moon4 #bj4 ,it forms the islands 7by undulation of waves and collection of sands72 and is the preserver of the machine of animal bodies1 by means of its conducting the vital airs4 #ba4 ,it is ever present before us1 and yet invisible in itself1 like an imaginary palace2 or as oil in the pods of palm trees1 or fetters on the legs of infuriate elephants4 #bb4 ,it blows away in a moment1 all the mountains at the end of the world2 it marks the waves with their curls1 and collects the sands of rivers 7to large beaches and coasts74 #bc4 ,it is false in appearance1 as water in a cloud of smoke1 or a whirlpool in it2 it is as invisible as the streams above the firmament1 and the lotuses growing in the lakes of the blue etherial sky4 #bd4 ,it is covered with bits of rotten grass1 in its form of the gusts of wind2 it opens the lotus blossoms by its gentle breeze1 and showers down the rains in its form of sounding blasts4 #be4 ,its body is as a wind instrument at home1 and as an elephant in the forest of the sky2 it is a friend to the dust of the earth1 and a wooer of flowers in woods and gardens4 #bf4 ,it is ever busy in its several acts1 of congealing and drying1 of upholding and moving1 and of cooling the body and carrying the perfumes2 and is incessantly employed in these six fold functions to the end of the world4 #bg4 ,it is as fleet as light1 and adroit in extracting juices as the absorbent heat2 and is ever employed in the acts of contraction and distension of the limbs of bodies1 at the will of every body4 #bh4 ,it passes unobstructed through the avenues1 of every part of the city of the body2 and by its circulation in the heart1 and distribution of the bile and chyle through blood vessels1 it preserves the functions of life4 #bi4 ,it is expert in repairing the losses1 of the great citadel of the living body2 by removing its excrements and replacing its gastric juices 7i4e4 the six humours of the body71 and the formation of its blood and fat1 and the flesh1 bones1 and skin4 #cj4 ,i looked through every particle of the body1 by means of the circulating air2 as ,i viewed every part of the universe by means of the circumambient air2 and it is by means of my vital airs1 that ,i conduct this body of mine4 #ca4 ,the winds bear innumerable particles on their back1 as if they were so many worlds in the air1 while in fact there is nothing borne by them1 when there is naught but an utter negative vacuity every where4 #cb4 ,i viewed all bodies including those of the gods1 as those of ,hari and ,brahm1 and the ,gandharvas and ,vidydharas2 and ,i saw the bright sun and moon1 of fire and ,indra and others4 #cc4 ,i saw the seas and oceans1 the islands and mountains1 stretching as far as the visible horizon2 ,i beheld also the other worlds1 and the natures and actions of their inhabitants4 #cd4 ,i saw the heaven and earth and the infernal regions also1 and marked their peoples and their lives and deaths likewise4 #ce4 ,so ,i beheld various kinds of beings1 composed of the five elements2 and traversed in the form of air1 throughout all parts of the universe1 as a bee enters the foliage of a lotus flower4 #cf4 ,in my aerial form1 ,i passed through the bodies of all corporeal beings1 which are composed of earth1 water1 air and fire2 ,i sucked the juice of all animal bodies1 and drank the moisture of trees drawn by their roots4 #cg4 ,i passed over all cold and solid bodies1 and the liquid paste of sandal wood2 ,i rested in the cool lunar disk1 and lulled myself on beds of snows and ice4 #ch4 ,i have tasted the sweets of all season fruits and flowers in the arbours of every part of this earth2 ,i have drunk my fill in the flower-cups of spring2 and left the lees and leavings for the beverage of bees4 #ci4 ,then ,i rolled on the high and soft beds of clouds1 which are spread out in the wide fields of the firmament2 and ,i slept on soft and downy wings of clouds1 as in a place bedded by heaps of butter4 #dj4 ,i reposed on the petals of flowers1 and on the green leaves of trees2 and rested on the soft bodies of heavenly nymphs1 without any concupiscence on my part4 #da4 ,i played with the blossoms of lilies and lotuses1 in their beds and bushes2 and ,i joined with the cackling geese and swans in their pleasure lakes4 #db4 ,i moved with the course of streams1 and with the rippling waters of lakes and rills2 and ,i bore the orb of the earth on my back1 and carried about me all her mountains1 as hairs upon my body4 #dc4 ,the wide extending hills and mountains1 the lengthening rills falling from them1 together with all the seas and oceans1 are all as pictures represented in the mirror of my body4 #dd4 ,all the terrestrials and celestials1 that live and move at large upon my body2 appear to be moving and flying about me as lice and flies4 #de4 ,it is by my favor1 that the sun receives the various colours with which he shines2 and which he diffuses to the leaves of trees1 in the sundry hues of red and black1 of white1 yellow and green4 #df4 ,the earth is situated with the seven seas1 surrounding the seven great islands 7continents72 as so many wristlets are encircled about the wrists of men4 #dg4 ,i was delighted at the sight of the celestial nymphs1 also1 as ,i see with gladness myself within4 #dh4 ,the earth with its rivers of pure water and its solid hills and rocks1 were as the veins and blood1 and flesh and bones of my body4 #di4 ,i beheld innumerable elephantine clouds1 and countless suns and moons in the starry frame on the sky2 as ,i see the flights of gnats and flies in the vacuum of my mind4 #ej4 ,in my minute form of the intellect1 ,i held1 ,o ,rma1 the earth with its footstools of the nether regions upon my head 7because the vacuous intellect is capable of containing and upholding all things74 #ea4 ,i remained in my sole vacuous and spiritual state1 in all places and things at all times1 and as the free agent of myself2 and yet without my connection with any thing whatsoever4 #eb4 ,in this state of my spirituality1 ,i had the knowledge of both the intellectual and material worlds2 and of all finite and infinite1 visible and invisible and formal as well as formless things4 #ec4 ,i beheld in my own spirit1 a thousand worlds and mountains and seas2 and they appeared as carved statues and engravings in the vacuous tablet of my mind4 #ed4 ,i bore in my spiritual body1 many occult and visible worlds2 and they showed themselves as clearly to my inmost soul1 as if they were the reflexions of real objects in a mirror4 #ee4 ,so ,i perceived the four elemental bodies of earth and air1 and of fire and water1 in my vacuous soul2 in same manner as we see the delusive objects of our dream in the vacuity of our intellect4 #ef4 ,i saw also in that state of my hypnotism1 innumerable worlds rising before me in each particle of matter2 as it appeared to fly before me in the hollow space of vacuum4 #eg4 ,i beheld a world in every atom1 which was flying in empty air2 just as we see the many creations of our dreams1 and the many creatures in those dreams4 #eh4 ,i myself have become the orb of the earth1 and the clusters of islands 7as their pervading spirit 7adhysiktma72 though my spirit never comes in contact with anything at all74 #ei4 ,with my earthly body1 ,i suck the rain water and the waters of the seas2 in order to supply the moisture of the moisture of trees1 on account of their producing the juicy fruits1 for the food of living beings4 #fj4 ,at the time of my coming to pure understanding1 and the clair-voyance of my intellectual sight2 ,i find the millions of worlds and all worldly things1 disappearing from my view and all uniting in ,one sole unity4 #fa4 ,this is a miracle of the intellect1 and it strikes with wonder in ourselves2 that the miracles of the inner mind1 manifest themselves as external sights before our eyes4 7i4e4 ,the subjective appearing as the objective74 #fb4 ,i felt it painful to think of the existence of nothing any where2 but ,i found out the truth1 that there is nothing in reality except one spiritual substance1 which displays all these wonders in itself4 #fc4 ,there is but ,one universal soul1 which is the ever undecaying cause of all2 and produces and lives through out the whole4 7,this is called the visva rpa hypostasis of ,god1 as it is expressed by the poet 8,these as they change1 are but the varied ,god10 and the world is full of ,him74 ,and as my soul was awakened to knowledge1 ,i saw this whole in the soul of ,brahma4 #fd4 ,being awakened to the knowledge of the universal soul1 as the all and every where1 ubiquitous and all supporting2 ,i became insensible of all objects1 and was myself lost in the all subjective unity4 #fe4 ,it is in the vacuous convexity of the pure divine spirit1 that the continuous creations appear to rise in the intellect2 but it is the extinction of these1 which extinguishes the burning flame 7of worldliness7 in the mind1 and exterminates the knowledge of all these ideal particulars1 into that of ,one infinite and ever existent entity4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxiii4 ,,the ,,advent ,,and ,,psalmody ,,of ,a ,,siddha ,,in ,,the ,,aerial ,,abode ,,of ,,vasishtha4 ,argument3--,the appearance of the spirit of a siddha in the aerial cell of ,vasishtha1 and his heavenly canticle4 ,vasishtha continued3--,as my mind was turned from the sight of phenomenals1 and employed in the meditation of the only ,one2 ,i found myself to be suddenly transported to my holy cell in the air4 #b4 ,there ,i lost the sight of my own body1 and knew not where ,i was seated2 when all of a sudden the sacred person of a siddha or aerial saint1 appeared in view1 and to be seated before me4 #c4 ,he sat in his mood of deep meditation1 and was entranced in his thought of the supreme spirit2 his appearance was as bright as the sun1 and his person was as shining as the flaming fire4 #d4 ,he sat quiet and steadily in his posture of padmsana between his two knees and heels2 and remained absorbed in meditation1 having no motion of his body1 nor any thought of anything in his mind4 #e4 ,his body was besmeared with ashes1 and his head was borne erect upon his shoulders2 he sat quiet and quite at ease1 with his bright countenance and in sedate posture4 #f4 ,the palms of both his hands were lifted up1 and were set open below his navel2 and their brightness caused his lotiform heart to be as full-blown1 as the sun-beam expands the lotuses in lakes4 #g4 ,his eyelids were closed1 and his eyesight was as weak1 as to view all the visibles in one light of whiteness1 and they seemed to be as sleepy1 as the closing petals of the lotus of the close of the day4 #h4 ,his mind was as calm in all its closets 7i4e4 thoughts71 as the sides of the horizon in their stillness2 and his soul was as unperturbed1 as the serene sky freed from a tempest 7calm after storm74 #i4 ,i who did not see my own person1 could yet plainly perceive that of the saint thus placed before me2 and then ,i reflected in my mind1 with the perspicacity of my discernment4 #aj4 ,i find this great and perfect siddha or saint in this solitary part of the firmament2 and ,i believe him to be as absorbed in his meditation1 as ,i am at my ease in this lonely spot4 #aa4 ,it is very likely that this saint1 being earnest in his desire of deep meditation1 and finding this retired cell of mine most favourable to it1 has called here of his own accord4 #ab4 ,he thought ,i had cast off my mortal coil1 and could not perceive by his deep attention that ,i had returned to it2 so he threw away my dead body as he thought it1 and made his residence in that cell of mine4 #ac4 ,seeing thus the loss of my body here1 ,i thought of repairing to my own abode 7in the constellation of ,pleiades 7 and as ,i was attempting to proceed thereto1 ,i resigned my attachment to my lone cell 7which was now held by another74 #ad4 ,this cell was dilapidated also in time1 and there remained an empty void only in lieu of it2 and the saint that had taken my place therein1 lost his stay also for want of the cell1 and fell downward in his meditative mood4 #ae4 ,thus that lonely cell was lost to me1 together with the loss of my fond desire for it1 just as a visionary and imaginary city vanishes with the dream and desire1 which presented it to our view4 #af4 ,the meditative saint then fell down from it1 as the rain falls down from the cloud2 and as a spot of cloud is blown away to the winds in empty air1 like the disc of the moon traversing in the sky4 #ag4 ,he felt as a heavenly spirit falls to earth1 after fruition of the reward of his meritorious acts2 and as a tree falls headlong being uprooted from the ground1 so he fell down upon the earth4 #ah4 ,so when wish for stability of our dwelling1 with the continuance of our lives2 we see on a sudden the termination of both1 as it happened to the falling ,siddha4 #ai4 ,seeing the falling ,siddha1 ,i felt a kind concern for him2 and in the flight of my mind1 came down from heaven in my spiritual form1 to that spot on earth where he had fallen4 #bj4 ,he fell on the wings of the current air1 which conveyed him whirling as in a whirlwind1 beyond the limits of the seven continents and their seven fold oceans1 to a place known as the land of gold and the paradise of the gods4 #ba4 ,he fell from the sky in his very posture of padmsana as he had been sitting there before2 and sat with his head and upper part of the body erect1 owing to the ascension or upward motion of the prna and apna breaths that were inhaled by him4 7,the rising breath like the rope of a pitcher1 keeps the body from sinking downward74 #bb4 ,though hurled from such height1 and carried to such distance2 yet he did not wake from the torpor of his samdhi--meditation1 7to which he sat fixed and intent72 but fell down insensible as a stone1 and as lightly as a bale of cotton4 #bc4 ,i was then much concerned for his sake1 and from my great anxiety to waken him2 ,i roared aloud like a cloud from my place in the sky1 and showered a flood of rain-water also upon him4 #bd4 ,i went on darting hail stones1 and flashing as lightnings in order to waken him2 and ,i succeeded to bring him to sense1 as the clouds rouse the peacock in the rainy season4 #be4 ,his body flushed and his eyes opened1 as a blooming blossom and full blown flowers2 and the drizzling rains enlivened his soul1 as the driving rain1 gives the lotuses of lakes to bloom4 #bf4 ,finding him awake1 and seated in my presence1 ,i cast my complacent look upon him2 and asked him very politely1 about the prosperity of his spiritual concerns4 #bg4 ,i said1 tell me1 ,o great sage1 who you are1 and where is your abode1 and what to do2 and how is it that you are so insensible of your state1 notwithstanding your fall from so great a distance4 7,it is a pity that men are so insensible of the fall of their heavenly souls to this miserable earth74 #bh4 ,being addressed by me in this manner1 he looked steadfastly upon me1 and then remembering his visit at mine1 he replied to me in a voice1 as sweet as that of the chtaka--swallow to the sonorous clouds4 #bi4 ,the sagely siddha said3--,you sir1 shall have to wait awhile until ,i can recollect myself and my former state2 and then ,i will relate to you the latter incidents of my life4 #cj4 ,so saying he fell to the recollection of his past incidents1 and then having got them in his remembrance1 he related the particulars to me without any reserve1 and as if they were the occurrence of his present day4 #ca4 ,he then spoke to me in a voice1 as soft and cooling as the sandal paste and moonbeams2 and the words were as blameless and well spoken1 as they were pleased to my ears and ravishing of my soul4 #cb4 ,the siddha said3--,i now come to know you sir1 and greet you with reverence2 and beg you to pardon my intrusion upon you1 as it is the nature of the good to forgive the faults of others4 7,because to err is human1 to forgive divine74 #cc4 ,know me1 ,o sage1 to have long enjoyed 7in one of my former births71 the sweets of the garden of paradise in the form of butterfly2 as a bee sucks the honey of lotus-flowers in the lake4 #cd4 ,i fluttered over a running stream1 and found it swelling with sounding waves at pleasure2 and then seeing it whirling with its horrid whirlpools1 ,i began to reflect with sorrow in my mind 7in the following manner74 #ce4 ,such is the sight of the troubles in this ocean of the world1 which overwhelms me quite in sorrow and grief2 and ,i have become like a parching and plaintive swallow1 that wails aloud at a draught of rain water4 #cf4 ,i find my chief delight to consist in intelligence1 and perceive no pleasure in worldly enjoyments1 therefore ,i must rely only in my intellectual speculations1 and abide without any anxiety1 in the unclouded sphere of my spiritual felicity4 #cg4 ,i see there is no real pleasure here1 but what is derived from our sensations of the sensible objects 7of figure1 sound1 taste1 touch and smell72 ,i find no lasting delight in these1 that ,i should depend on them4 #ch4 ,all this is either the vacuity of the intellect1 or representations of the intellect itself2 when then should ,i be deluded with these false appearances1 as a madman or one of a deluded mind is apt to do4 #ci4 ,the sensibles are causes of our insensibility as poison1 and women are deluders of men and provokers of their passions2 all sweets are but gall1 and all pleasures are only a sort of pleasing pain4 #dj4 ,and this body which is subject to sickness and decay1 with its mind as fickle as a shrimp fish1 is hourly watched upon by inexorable death1 as the old crane lurks after the skimming fish for his prey4 #da4 ,the frail body being subject to instant extinction1 likens a bubble of water in the ocean of eternity2 it resembles also the flame of lamp1 which is put out in a moment1 while it burns vividly before us4 #db4 ,what is the life any more than a stream of water1 running between its two shores of birth and death2 flowing on with the currents of passing joys and griefs1 swelling with the waves of incidents1 and whirling with the whirlpools of dangers and difficulties8 #dc4 ,it is muddied with the pleasures of youth1 and blanched with the hoary froths of old age2 and emits but casually a few bursting bubbles of glee and gladness1 which are afloat for and flitting in a moment4 #dd4 ,it runs with the rapid torrent of custom1 sounding with the hoarse noise of current opinions2 it is overcast by the roaring clouds of envy and anger1 and overflows the earth in its liquid form 7of evanescent bodies74 #de4 ,the word stream of life1 is as pleasing to hear and pleasant to the ear1 as the term stream of water is soothing to the soul2 but its waters are ever boiling with heat of tritpa1 and abounding with whirlpools of illusion and avarice1 that carry us up and down for ever more4 #df4 ,the course of the world is as that of the waters of a river1 which bears away the present things on its back1 and brings with its current1 what was unforeseen and unexpected before4 ,it is thus full with these events4 #dg4 ,all that was present before us1 is lost to and borne away from us1 and it is in vain to repine at their loss2 and whatever was never thought of before1 come to pass upon us1 but what reliance can there be in any one of them4 #dh4 ,all the rivers on earth1 have their waters continually passing away1 and filling them by turns from their sources2 but life which the water of the river of the body1 being once gone1 is never supplied to it from any source4 #di4 ,the vicissitudes of fortune1 are incessantly turning like a potter's wheel1 over the destinies of people1 and are entailing some person or other every moment1 in this ocean of the world4 #ej4 ,a thousand thieves and enemies of our estate1 are constantly wandering about to rob us of our properties1 and nothing avails whether we sleep or wake to ward them off4 #ea4 ,the particles of our lives1 are wasting and falling off every moment2 and yet it is a wonder that1 nobody is aware of the loss of the days of his life1 as long as he has but a little while to live4 #eb4 ,the present day is reckoned as ours1 but it is as soon passed as the past ones2 and thus ignorant of the flight of days1 nobody knows the loss of the duration of his life1 until he comes to meet with his death4 #ec4 ,we have lived long to eat and drink1 and to move about from place to place1 and to rove in foreign lands and woods2 we have felt and seen all sorts of weal and woe2 say what more is there that we can expect to have for our share4 #ed4 ,having wellknown the pain and pleasure of grief and joy1 and experienced their changes and the reverses of fortune1 ,i am fully imprest with the idea of the transitoriness of all things1 and therefore kept afar from seeking any thing4 #ee4 ,i have enjoyed all enjoyments1 and seen their transitoriness every where2 and yet ,i found no satisfaction with or distaste to anything1 nor felt my cool inappetency for them any where4 #ef4 ,i wandered on the tops of high hills1 and roved in the airy regions on the summits of the ,meru mountains2 ,i travelled to the cities of many a ruler of men1 but met with nothing of any real good to me any where4 #eg4 ,i saw the same woody trees1 the same kind of earthly cities1 and the same sort of fleshy animal bodies every where2 ,i found them all frail and transitory1 and full of pain and misery as never to be liked4 #eh4 ,i saw no riches nor friends1 no relatives nor enjoyments of life1 were able to preserve any one from the clutches of death4 #ei4 ,man passes away as soon1 as the rain-water glides down the mountain glades2 and is carried away by the hand of death as quickly1 as a heap of hollow ashes is blown away by the wind4 #fj4 ,no enjoyment is desirable to me1 nor has the gaudiness of prosperity any charm for me2 when ,i find my life to be as transient1 as the transitory glance from the side long look of an amorous woman4 #fa4 ,how and where and whose help shall we seek1 when ,o sage2 we see a hundred evils and imminent death hanging every day over our heads4 7i4e4 ,naught can save us from death and distress74 #fb4 ,our lives are as frail as falling leaves1 upon the withered woods of our bodies2 and the moisture which they used to derive from them1 is soon dried up and exhausted at the end4 #fc4 ,i passed my life in vain desires and expectations1 and derived nothing therefrom1 that is of any intrinsic good or profit to me4 #fd4 ,my delusion is at last removed from me1 and ,i see it useless to bear the burthen of my body here any longer2 ,i find it better to place no reliance in it1 than bemean ourselves by our dependence to it4 #fe4 ,all prosperity is but adversity1 owing to its transitory and illusive nature2 therefore the wise accounting it as such1 place no reliance on the vanities of this world4 #ff4 ,men are sometimes led by the directions of the sstras1 and at other by their prohibitions also2 as the movables are carried up and by the rising and falling waters 7i4e4 running in right or wrong directions74 #fg4 ,the poisonous air of worldliness1 contaminates the sweet odour of reason in the mind of man2 and makes it noxious to the person1 as the canker in the bosom of the bud1 corrodes the future flowers4 #fh4 ,the vanities of the world1 are as usually taken for realities1 as all other unrealities in nature are commonly taken for actualities4 7,the world is unreal1 and all seeming realities are unreal also74 #fi4 ,men are moving about with their bodies upon earth1 with as much haste as the rivers are running to the seas2 thus the great mass of mankind here1 are seen to be in pursuit of the sensible objects of their desire4 #gj4 ,the desires of our hearts run to their objects1 with as much speed as the arrow's fly from the archer's bow2 but they never return to their seat in the heart or bow string1 as our ungrateful friends that forsake us in our adversity4 #ga4 ,our friends are our enemies1 as the blasts of wind that blow us away with their breath2 all our relations are our bonds and fetters1 and our riches are but causes of our poverty4 #gb4 ,our pleasures are 7causes of7 our pains1 and prosperity the source of adversity2 all enjoyments are sufferings 7as leading to maladies71 and all fondness tends at last to distaste and dislike4 #gc4 ,all prosperity and adversity1 tend only to our temporary joy and misery2 and our life is but a prologue or prelude to our extinction or quietus 7nirvna74 ,all these are the display of our unavoidable delusion4 #gd4 ,as time glides along on any man1 shewing him the various sights of joy and misery2 the poor creature lives only to see the loss of his friends1 and to repine at his hapless and helpless longevity4 #ge4 ,the enjoyment of pleasures1 is as playing with the fangs of a deadly serpent2 they kill you no sooner you touch them1 and they disappear from your sight1 whenever you look after them4 #gf4 ,the life is spent without any attempt1 to attain that perfect state1 which is obtained without any pain or toil2 while it is employed every day in hardships of acquiring the perishable trifling pleasures4 #gg4 ,men who are bound to their desire of carnal enjoyment1 are exposed to shame and the contumely of the rich every moment2 and are as wild elephants1 tied with strong fetters at their feet4 #gh4 ,our fortunes and favourites1 are not only as frail and fickle1 as the transitory waves and bubbles2 but they are as pernicious as the fangs of a snake2 and who is there so silly enough1 as to take his rest under the shadow of the hood of enraged serpent4 #gi4 ,granting the objects of desire to be pleasing1 and the gifts of prosperity to be very charming2 still what are they and this life also any more1 than the fickle glances of a mistress' eyes4 #hj4 ,those who enjoy the pleasures of the present time with so much zest2 must come to feel them quite insipid at the end1 and fall into the hell-pit at last4 #ha4 ,i take no delight in riches1 which are worshipped by the vulgar only2 which are ever subject to disputes1 earned with labour1 kept with great care1 and are yet as unstable as the winged winds in air4 #hb4 ,fortune which is so favorable for a while1 turns to misfortune in a trice2 she is very charming to her possessor1 but is as fickle in her nature1 as the fleeting flash of lightning4 #hc4 ,riches like flatterers1 are very flattering at first and as long as they last2 but they are as fleeting as those deceitful cheats1 who mock at us upon their loss4 #hd4 ,the blessings of health1 wealth and youth1 are as evanescent as the fleeting shadow of autumnal clouds2 and the enjoyments of sensual pleasures1 are pernicious at the end4 #he4 ,say who has remained the same even among the great1 to the end of his journey in this world1 the lives of men are as fleeting1 as the trickling dew drops at the end of the leaves of trees4 #hf4 ,our bodies are decaying in time1 and our hairs are turning grey with age1 and the teeth are falling off2 thus all things are worn out in the world1 except our desires1 which know no decrease or decay4 #hg4 ,the carnal enjoyments like wild beasts1 come to decay in the forest of the body2 but the poison plant of our desire which grows in it1 is ever on its increase4 #hh4 ,our boyhood passes as quickly as our infancy1 and our youth passes as soon as our boyish days2 and here there is an equal transience1 to be seen in both the comparison and the object compared with4 #hi4 ,life melts away as quickly1 as the water oozes out of the hold of our palms2 and like the current of a river1 it never returns to its receptacle4 #ij4 ,the body also passes away as hurriedly1 as a hurricane sweeps in the air2 and it vanishes even before our sight of it1 like a wave or cloud1 or as fast as the flame of a lamp4 #ia4 ,i have found unpleasantness in what ,i thought to be very pleasant1 and found the unsteadiness of what ,i believed to be steady2 ,i have known the unreality of what ,i took to be real1 and hence have ,i become distrustful and disgustful of the world4 #ib4 ,the ease and rest that attend on the soul1 upon the cool indifference of the mind2 are never to be obtained in any enjoyment1 that the upper or nether worlds1 can ever afford to any body4 #ic4 ,i find the pleasurable objects of my senses1 are still alluring me to their trap1 as a fruit and flower entices the foolish bee to fall upon them4 #id4 ,now after the lapse of a long time1 ,i am quite released from my selfish egoism2 and my mind has become indifferent to the desire of future rewards and heavenly felicity4 #ie4 ,i have long found my rest in my solitary bliss of vacuity1 and have come here as thyself1 and met with this etherial cell4 7,the aerial cell is a creation of the saint's imagination74 #if4 ,i came to learn afterwards that this cell belonged to thee2 but ,i never thought that thou shalt ever return to it4 #ig4 ,i saw there a lifeless body1 and thought it to be the frame of a siddha or holy saint1 who having quitted his mortal coil1 has become extinct in his nirvna4 #ih4 ,this sir1 is my narrative as ,i have related to you2 and am seated here as ,i am1 and you can do unto me as you may like4 #ii4 ,until a siddha sees all things in his mind1 and considers them well in his clear judgment1 he is incapable of seeing the past1 present and future in his clairvoyance1 even though he be as perfect as the nature of the lotus-born ,brahm himself4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxiv4 ,,description ,,of ,a ,,pis,,cha1 ,,and ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,world ,,with ,,brahma4 ,argument3--,advent of ,vasishtha and the saint to the region of ,siddha and description of the people thereof4 ,vasishtha continued3--,now as we were at a spot of great extent 7beyond the limit of the terraqueous72 and as bright as the golden sphere of heaven1 ,i spoke to the ,siddha by way of friendship4 #b4 ,i said1 it is true sir1 what you said1 that it is the want of due attention1 which prevents our comprehensive knowledge of the present1 past and future2 but it is a defect not only of yours and mine1 but of the minds of all mankind in general4 #c4 ,i say so from my right knowledge of the defects and fallibility of human nature1 or else sir1 you would not have to fall from your aerial seat4 ,but pardon me1 ,i am equally fallible also4 #d4 ,rise therefore from this place1 and let us repair to aerial abode of the ,siddhas1 where we were seated before2 because one's own seat is the most genial to man1 and self-perfection is the best of all perfections4 #e4 ,so saying they both got up1 and rose as high as the stars of heaven2 and both directed their course in the same way1 as an aeronaut1 or a stone flung into the air4 #f4 ,we then took leave of each other with mutual salutations2 and each went to the respective place which was desirable to either of us4 #g4 ,i have now related to you fully the whole of this story1 whereby you may know1 ,o ,rma1 the wonderful occurrences that betide us in this everchangeful world4 #h4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 how and with what form of body1 thou didst rove about the regions of the ,siddhas1 when thy mortal frame was reduced to dust4 #i4 ,vasishtha replied3--,ah6 ,i remember it1 and will tell you the particulars1 how ,i wandered throughout these worldly abodes1 until ,i arrived at the city of the ,loka-pla deities1 and joined with the hosts of ,siddhas1 traversing in the regions of midway sky4 #aj4 ,i travelled in the regions of ,indra or open firmament1 without being seen by any body there2 because ,i was then passing in my spiritual body1 eversince ,i had lost my material frame-work4 #aa4 ,i had then become1 ,o ,rma1 of an aerial form1 in which there was neither a receptacle nor recipient1 beside the nature of vacuous and intellectual soul4 #ab4 ,i was then neither the subject or object of perception of persons like yourself1 who dwell on sensible objects alone2 nor did ,i make any reckoning of the distance of space or succession of time4 7,the spiritual yogi has no cognizance of gross material things1 nor of the divisions of space and time1 which are objects of sensation only74 #ac4 ,the soul is busy with the thinking principle of the mind1 apart from all material objects composed of earth c42 and is as the meditative mind or ideal man1 that meddles with no material substance4 #ad4 ,it is not pressed nor confined by material things1 but is always busy with its cognitions2 and it deals with beings in the same manner1 as men in sleep do with the objects of their dream 7and others with their air-built cities74 #ae4 ,know ,rma1 this doctrine of intellection by the simile of dreaming1 to be quite irrefutable1 although it is confuted by others 7i4e4 the ,nyya philosophers who deny the mental conceptions without previous perceptions72 but they are not to be regarded as right4 7,since the ,veda says1 the spirit of ,god created all from his mind1 and not from its past perceptions74 #af4 ,as the sleeping man thinks himself to be walking and acting in his dream1 without such actions of his being perceived by others 7in the same room72 so methought ,i walked before and beheld the aerials without their seeing me4 #ag4 ,i beheld all other terrestrial bodies lying manifest before me1 but nobody could observe me that was hid from their sight in my spiritual form4 #ah4 ,rma asked3--,sir1 if you were invisible to the ,gods1 owing to your bodiless or vacuous form2 how then could you be seen by the ,siddha in the ,kanaka land1 or see others without having eyes of your own8 #ai4 ,vasishtha replied3--,we spiritual beings view all things by means of our inner knowledge of them2 as other people behold the things they are desirous to see1 and naught what they had not any desire for4 7,this desire is said to be satya-sankalpa1 or a firm prepossession of any idea in the mind74 #bj4 ,all men though possest of pure souls1 do yet forget their spiritual nature1 by their being too deeply engaged in worldly affairs and unspiritual matters4 #ba4 ,as ,i had then wished that this person the ,siddha1 could have a sight of me2 so it was according to the wish of mine1 that ,i was observed by him2 because every man obtains what he earnestly desires4 #bb4 ,men being slack in their purposes1 become unsuccessful in their desires2 but this person being staunch to his purpose1 and never swerving from his pursuit1 succeeded in gaining his desired object4 #bc4 ,but when two persons are engaged in the same pursuit1 or one of them is opposed to the views of the other2 the attempt of the more arduous is crowned with success1 and that of the weaker meets with its failure4 #bd4 ,then ,i travelled through aerial regions of the ,lokapla regents of the sky1 and passing by the celestial city of the ,siddhas in my spiritual body2 ,i beheld these people with manners quite different from my former habits4 #be4 ,i then began to observe their strange manners in the etherial space1 and being unseen myself by any one there1 ,i saw distinctly every body there1 and their mode of life and dealings with amazement4 #bf4 ,i called them aloud1 but they neither heard nor gave heed to my voice2 and they appeared to me as empty phantoms as the images of our dreams and visions4 #bg4 ,i tried to lay hold on some of them1 but noone could be grasped by my hands2 and they evaded my touch1 as the ideal images of the human mind4 #bh4 ,thus ,rma1 ,i remained as a demoniac pischa1 in the abode of the holy ,gods2 and thought myself to be transformed to a pischa spirit in the open air4 #bi4 ,rma said3--,tell me sir1 what kind of beings are pischas in this world1 and what are their natures and forms1 and what are their states and occupations also4 #cj4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i will tell you1 ,rma1 what sort of beings the pischas are in this world2 because it is unmannerly on the part of a preacher1 not to answer to the interlocutory queries of the audience 7though it be a digress from subject74 #ca4 ,the ,pischas are a sort of aerial beings1 with subtile bodies of theirs 7as we see the empty forms of persons in our dreams72 they have their hands and feet and other members of the body as thine1 and see all things as thou dost4 #cb4 ,they sometimes assume the form of a shadow to terrify people1 and at others enter into their minds in an aerial form1 in order to mislead them to error and wicked purposes4 7,they like devils waylay unwary men1 and tempt them to evil74 #cc4 ,they kill persons1 eat their marrow1 and suck up the blood of weak bodied people2 they lay a siege about the mind1 and destroy the vitals and viscera and the strength and lives of men4 #cd4 ,some of them are of aerial forms1 and some of the form of frost1 others as visionary men1 as seen in our dreams with airy forms of their bodies4 7,and they are at liberty to take upon themselves whatever forms they please74 #ce4 ,some of them are of the forms of clouds1 and others of the nature of winds1 some bear illusory bodies1 but all of them are possessed of the mind and understanding4 #cf4 ,they are not of tangible forms to be laid hold by us1 or to lay hold on any one else2 they are mere empty airy bodies1 yet conscious of their own existence4 #cg4 ,they are susceptible of feeling the pain and pleasure1 occasioned by heat and cold2 but they are incapable of the actions of eating1 drinking1 holding and supporting anything with their spiritual bodies4 #ch4 ,they are possessed of desire1 envy1 fear1 anger and avarice1 and are liable to delusion and illusion also2 and are capable of subjection by means of the spell of mantras1 charm of drugs and of other rites and practices4 #ci4 ,it is likewise possible for one at some time or other1 to see and secure some one of them by means of incantations1 captivating exorcisms and amulets and spirit in chanting invocations4 #dj4 ,they are all the progeny of the fallen gods1 and therefore some of them bear the forms of gods also2 while some are of human forms1 and others are as serpents and snakes in their appearance4 #da4 ,some are likened to the forms of dogs and jackals1 and some are found to inhabit in villages and woods2 and there are many that reside in rivers1 mud and mire and hell pits4 #db4 ,i have thus told you1 all about the forms and residences and doings of pischas2 hear me now relate to you concerning the origin and birth of these beings4 #dc4 ,know that there exists forever1 an omnipotent power of its own nature2 which is the unintelligible ,intelligence itself1 and known as ,brahma the great4 #dd4 ,know this as the living soul1 which being condensed becomes ego1 and it is the condensation of egoism which makes the mind4 #de4 ,this divine ,mind is styled ,brahm1 which the vacuous form of the divine will2 which is unsubstantial origin of this unreal world1 which is as formless as the hollow mind4 #df4 ,so the mind exists as ,brahma1 whose form is that of the formless vacuum2 it is the form of a person seen in our dream1 which is an entity without its reality or formal body4 #dg4 ,it was devoid of any earthly material or elemental form1 and existed in an immaterial and spiritual form only2 for how is it possible for the volitive principle1 to have a material body subsisting in empty air8 #dh4 ,rma1 as you see the aerial city of your imagination in your mind1 so doth the mind of ,brahm imagine itself as the ,virinchi 7vir incipience7 or creator of the world4 #di4 ,whatever one sees in his imagination1 he considers it as true for the time2 and whatever is the nature and capacity of any being1 he knows all others to be of the same sort with himself8 #ej4 ,whatever the vacuous soul sees in its empty sphere1 the same it knows as true1 as the spirit of ,brahma and the mind of ,brahm1 exhibit this ideal world for reality4 #ea4 ,thus the contemplation of the present pageant of the world1 as ever existent of itself at all times2 strengthens the belief of its reality1 as that protracted and romantic dream4 #eb4 ,so the long meditation of ,brahma1 in his spiritual form of the creative power2 presented to him the notions of multitudes of worlds1 and varieties of creations1 of which he became the creator4 7,so the original thought occurring in the mind of any one1 confers on him the title of the originator of the same4 ,so says ,manu3 8,brahm after long meditation1 produced the world from his intellect074 #ec4 ,the ideal then being perfected grew compact1 and took a tangible form2 which was afterwards called the world1 with all the many varieties of which it is composed4 #ed4 ,this ,brahm--the creative mind1 was self-same with ,brahma the supreme soul2 and these two are ever identic with the uncreated soul and body of the universe4 #ee4 ,these two 7i4e4 the great ,brahma and ,brahm or the ,divine spirit and mind71 are always one and the same being1 as the sky and its vacuity2 and they ever abide together in unity1 as the wind and its vacillation4 #ef4 ,the ,divine spirit views the phenomenal world1 as a phantom and nothing real2 just as you see the unreality of a figure of your imagination as real and substantial4 #eg4 ,this ,brahma then displayed himself 7under the name of ,virt71 in the form of a material body1 consisting of the quintuple elements of earth1 water c41 as the five solid and liquid parts of his person4 7,this is the ,hindu ,trinity1 composed of the soul1 mind and material frame1 as ,pope the poet has expressed it in the words3 8,whose body nature is1 and ,god the souls074 #eh4 ,as this triple nature of the ,deity1 is no more than the variation of his will1 so it represented itself as the one or other1 in its thought only1 and not in reality 7the substance being but a conception of the mind74 #ei4 ,brahm himself is vacuous intellect1 and his will consists in the vacuity of the same2 therefore the production and destruction of the world1 resemble the rise and fall of figures in the dreaming state of the human mind4 #fj4 ,as the divine mind of ,brahm is a reality1 so its parts or contents are real also2 and its acts or productions of the sun1 moon and stars1 as well as their rays--the ,marichis are real also4 #fa4 ,thus the existence of the world and all its contents1 is called the dominion of the mind2 which is only an unsupported vacuum1 like the vacuity of the supportless sky on high4 #fb4 ,as a city seen in dream is inane1 and a hill formed in imagination a mere void2 so both ,brahma and his world are as the transparent firmament1 and having no shape or substance of them4 #fc4 ,so the world is1 but a reflexion of the divine intellect2 it is ever existent and undecaying1 and the belief of the beginning1 middle and end of creation1 is as false1 as the sight of the ends and midspot of skies4 #fd4 ,say ,rma1 whether you find any gross substance1 to grow in the inane space of the mind of yours or mine or any other person2 and if you find no such thing there1 how can you suppose it to exist in the inanity of the ,divine ,intellect1 and in the vacuity of the universe8 #fe4 ,then tell me why and whence the feelings and passions1 such as anger and affection1 hate and fear1 take their rise2 all which are of no good to any body1 but rather pernicious to many4 #ff4 ,in truth ,i tell thee that these are not created things1 and yet they seem to rise and fall of themselves1 like our wrong notions of the production and destruction of the world4 ,these are but eternal ideas1 and coeternal with the eternal mind of ,god4 #fg4 ,the vast extent of infinite void1 is full with the translucent water of ,divine ,intellect2 but this being soiled by our imaginary conceits1 produces the dirt of false realities4 #fh4 ,the boundless space of the ,divine ,intellect1 is replete with the vacuous spirit of ,god2 which being the primary productive seed of all1 hath produced these multitudes of worlds1 scattered about and rolling as stones in the air4 #fi4 ,there is really no field nor any seed1 which is sown there in reality2 nor is there any thing which is ever grown or produced therein1 but whatever there is1 is existent for ever the same2 7and the rest is but fiction74 #gj4 ,now among the scattered seeds of souls1 there were some that grew mature1 and put forth in the forms of gods2 and those that were of a bright appearance1 became as intelligences and saints4 #ga4 ,those that were half mature1 became as human beings and ,nga races2 and such as were put forth themselves in the forms of insects1 worms and vegetables4 #gb4 ,those seeds which are bloated and choked1 and become fruitless at the end2 these produce the wicked ,pischas1 which are bodiless bodies of empty and aerial forms4 #gc4 ,it is not that ,virinchi 7vir incipiens7 or ,brahm1 made them so of his own accord or will2 but they became so according to the desire which they fostered in themselves in their prior existence 7which caused their transformations or metamorphoses in the latter ones74 7,because the lord is impartial1 and makes not one more or less than another74 #gd4 ,all existent beings are as inane1 as the inanity of the ,intellect in which they exist2 and they have all their spiritual bodies1 which are quite apart from the material forms in which you behold them4 #ge4 ,it is by your long habit1 that you have contracted the knowledge of their materiality2 as it has become habitual with us to think ourselves as waking in our dreaming state4 #gf4 ,it is in the same manner that all living bodies1 are accustomed to think of their corporeality2 and to live content with their frail and base earthly forms1 as the ,pischas are habituated to pass gladly in their ugly forms4 #gg4 ,some men look upon others and know them1 as the village people know and deal with their fellow villagers as with themselves2 but they resemble the people abiding together as seen in a dream4 #gh4 ,again some meet with many men1 as in a city constructed in dream 7or imagination72 but are quite unacquainted with one another1 owing to their distant abodes and different nationalities4 7,so are we unacquainted with the ,pischa race1 in this crowded city of the world74 #gi4 ,in this manner1 there are many races of object beings of whom we are utterly ignorant2 and such are the ,pischas1 ,kumbhandas1 ,pretas1 ,yakshas and others4 #hj4 ,as the waters upon earth1 are collected in lowlands only2 so do the ,pischas and goblins dwell in dark places alone4 #ha4 ,should a dark ,pischa dwell at bright midday light1 upon a sunny shore or open space2 it darkens that spot with the gloominess of its appearance4 #hb4 ,the sun even is not able1 to dispel that darkness1 nor can any one find out the place1 where the dark demon makes his abode2 on account of its delusiveness to evade human sight4 #hc4 ,as the orbs of the sun and moon1 and the furnace of burning fire1 appear bright before our eyes2 so on the contrary the abode of the ,pischas1 is ever obscured by impenetrable darkness1 which no light can pierce4 #hd4 ,the ,pischas are naturally of a wonderful nature1 that vanish like sparks of fire in daylight2 and become enkindled in the dark4 7,the ,pischas bear analogy to the sons of darkness or fallen angels in the black ,tartarian regions74 #he4 ,now ,rma1 ,i have fully related to you about the origin and nature of the ,pischa race in the course of this dis-course2 and then as ,i had become as one of them1 in the regions of the regents of the celestials4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxv4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,person ,,of ,,vasishtha4 ,argument3--,the conduct of men that are firm in the resolution and the behaviour of ,vasishtha in the etherial regions4 ,vasishtha continued3--,i then having my inane intellectual body1 which was quite free from the composition of the five elements2 roved about in the air in the manner of a pischa ghost 7seeing all and seen by none74 #b4 ,i was not perceived by the sun and moon1 nor by the gods ,hari1 ,hara1 ,indra and others2 and was quite invisible to the siddhas1 gandharvas1 ,kinnaras and ,apsaras of heaven4 #c4 ,i was astonished to think as any honest person1 who is a stranger at the house of another2 why the residents of the place did not perceive me1 though ,i advanced towards them and called them to me4 #d4 ,i then thought in myself that1 as these etherial beings are seekers of truth like ourselves2 it is right they should observe me among them in their etherial abode4 #e4 ,they then began to look upon me standing before them1 and felt astonished at my unthought appearance1 as the spectators are startled at the sudden sight of a juggler's trick or some magic show4 #f4 ,then ,i managed myself as ,i ought in the house of the gods1 ,i sat quiet in their presence1 and addressed and accosted them without any fear4 #g4 ,those who beheld me standing at the compound at first1 and were unacquainted with the particulars 7of my sagely character71 thought me a mere earthly being1 and known as ,vasishtha by name4 #h4 ,when ,i was in sun light by the celestials in heaven1 they took me for the enlightened ,vasishtha1 who is well known in the world4 #i4 ,as ,i was seen afloat in the air by the aerial siddhas1 they called me by the name of the aerial ,vasishtha4 #aj4 ,and as ,i was observed by the holy sages to rise from amidst the waters of the deep2 they called me the watery ,vasishtha1 from my birth in the water4 #aa4 ,hence forth ,i came to be renowned under different appellations1 by all these sets of beings2 some calling me the earthly ,vasishtha1 and others naming me the luminous1 the aerial and so forth according to their own kind4 #ab4 ,then in course of time1 my spiritual body assumed a material form1 which sprang from within me and of my own will4 #ac4 ,that spiritual body and this material form of mine1 were equally aerial and invisible2 because it was in my intellectual mind only1 that ,i perceived the one as well as the other4 #ad4 ,thus is my soul the pure intellect1 appearing sometimes as vacuum1 and at others shining as the clear sky2 it is transcendent spirit and without any form1 and takes this form for your admonition4 7,the incorporeal soul enters into the corporeal body for its dealing with others74 #ae4 ,the liberated living soul is as free as vacuous spirit of ,brahma1 although it may deal with others in its corporeal body2 so also the liberated bodiless soul1 remains as free as the great ,brahma himself4 #af4 ,as for myself ,i could not attain to ,brahmahood1 though ,i practiced the rules for obtaining my liberation2 and being unable to attain a better state1 ,i have become the sage ,vasishtha as you see before you4 #ag4 ,yet ,i look upon this world in the same light of immateriality1 as the sage sees the figure of person in his dream1 when it appears to him to have a material form1 though it is a formless non-entity in reality4 #ah4 ,in this manner do the self born god ,brahm and others1 and the whole creation at large1 present themselves as visions to my view1 without their having any entity in reality4 #ai4 ,here ,i am the self same vacuous and aerial ,vasishtha1 and appearing as a visionary shape before you1 ,i am though habituated to believe myself over grown1 as you are accustomed to think of the density of the world4 #bj4 ,all these are but vacuous essences of the self-born ,brahm1 and as that deity is no other than the ,divine ,mind1 so is this world no more than a production of that ,mind4 #ba4 ,the appearance of myself1 thyself and others1 together with that of the whole world1 proceeding from our ignorance2 is like the apparitions of empty ghosts before deluded boys1 and appearing as solid realities to your sight4 #bb4 ,being aware of this truth1 it is possible for you to grow wise in course of time2 and then this delusion of yours is sure to disappear1 as our worldly bonds are cut off with the relinquishment of our desires and affections4 #bc4 ,our knowledge of the density and intensity of the world1 is dissipated by true wisdom2 in the same manner as our desire of a dream of gem1 is dispelled upon our waking4 #bd4 ,the sight of the phenomenals vanishes at once from our view1 as we arrive to the knowledge of noumenal in time2 as our desire of deriving water from a river in the mirage1 subsides in our knowledge of the falsity of the view4 #be4 ,the perusal of this work of the great ,rmyana1 is sure to produce the knowledge of self-liberation in its reader1 even during his life time in this world4 #bf4 ,the man whose mind is addicted to worldly desires1 and who thinks its vanities as his real good1 leads a life to misery only like those of insects and worms1 and is unfit to be born as a human being1 notwithstanding all his knowledge of this world and all his holy devotion4 #bg4 ,the liberated man while he lives1 deems the enjoyments of his life1 to be no enjoyment at all2 but the ignorant person values his temporary enjoyments only1 in lieu of his everlasting felicity4 #bh4 ,by perusal of this ,mahrmyana1 there arises in the mind a coldness1 resembling a frost falling on spiritual knowledge4 #bi4 ,liberation is the cold indifference of the mind1 and our confinement consists in the passionateness of our minds and hearts2 yet the human race is quite averse to the former1 and sedulously employed in the acquisition of their temporal welfare only in their foolishness1 and to the astonishment of the wise4 #cj4 ,here all men are subject to their sense1 and addicted to the increase of wealth and family 7lit4--wives71 to the injury of one another2 yet it is possible for them to be happy and wise1 if they will but ponder well into the true sense of spiritual sstras4 #ca4 ,vlmki says3--,after the sage had said these words1 the assembly broke with the setting sun and mutual salutations1 to perform their evening devotion4 ,they made their ablutions as the sun sank down into the deep1 and again repaired to the court with the rising sun at the end of the night4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxvi4 ,,establishment ,,of ,,immortality4 ,argument3--,proof of the ,erroneous conception of the ,world1 and the ,truth of the ,intellectual and ,immortal soul4 ,vasishtha resumed3--,o intelligent ,rma6 ,i have now related to you at length the narrative of the stone1 which shows you plainly how all these created things1 are situated in the vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect4 #b4 ,and that there exists nothing whatever1 at any time or place or in the air2 except the ,one undivided intellect of ,god1 which is situated in itself1 as the salt and water are mixed up together 7or as ,one is self same with the other74 #c4 ,know ,brahma as the ,intellect itself1 which presents many sight shows of itself in the dream1 which are inseparable from itself4 7,the manifestation of the unchangeable nature of the ,divine ,mind as the creation1 is no more than its vivarta-rpa or expansion of itself1 as that of our minds in the various imageries seen in the state of our dreaming74 #d4 ,god being the universal spirit1 and the creation full of particularities1 it is not incongruous to the nature of the universal and immutable soul1 to contain the endless varieties of particulars in the infinite vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect1 without any variation in itself4 7,the universal and infinite ,god1 contains the particular and finite world in itself74 #e4 ,there is no self born creative power 7as ,brahm71 nor its creation of the world2 which is but a production of the dreaming intellect1 and is situated in our consciousness1 as the sights of dreams are imprinted in the memory4 #f4 ,as the city seen in your dream1 is situated intellectually in yourself2 so the entire universe is situated in the ,divine ,intellect1 ever since its creation to its annihilation 7or as the world without its end74 #g4 ,as there is no difference between gold and the gold mountain of ,meru1 and between the dreamed city and the mind2 so there is no difference whatever1 between the intellect and its creation4 7,both being of the same kind74 #h4 ,there is the intellect only which exists1 and not the world of its creations2 as the mind is existent without the gold mountain of its dream4 #i4 ,as the mind shows itself1 in the form of the formless mountain in its dream2 so the formless ,brahma1 manifests itself as the formal world1 which is nothing in reality4 #aj4 ,the ,intellect is all this vacuum1 which is increate1 unbounded and endless2 and which is neither produced nor destroyed in thousands of the great makkalpa ages4 7i4e4 ,it is both eternal as well as infinite74 #aa4 ,this intellectual vacuum is the living soul and lord of all1 it is the undecaying ego and embraces all the three worlds in itself 7as the air comprises all existence in it74 #ab4 ,the living body becomes a lifeless carcass1 without this aeriform intellect2 it is neither broken nor burnt with the fragile and burning body1 nor is there any place to intercept the vacuous intellect there from4 #ac4 ,therefore there is nothing that dies1 and naught that ever comes to being2 the intellect being the only being in existence1 the world is but a manifestation or disclosure of itself to the mind4 #ad4 ,the intellect alone is the embodied and living soul1 and should it ever be supposed to die2 then the son would be thought to die also by the death of the father1 because the one is but a reproduction of the other4 7,the text says1 the soul of the father is reborn in the son1 and if the former should die1 the latter must die also74 #ae4 ,again the death of one living soul1 would entail the wholesale death of all living creatures2 and then the earth 7nay even the whole world71 would be void of all its population4 7,because the one universal soul is the soul of all and every individual being74 #af4 ,therefore1 ,o ,rma1 the sole intellectual soul of nobody1 has ever died any where upto this time2 nor was there ever any country devoid of a living soul in it4 7,the world is full of life proceeding from the eternal life of ,god74 #ag4 ,knowing hence that ,i am one with the eternal soul1 and the body and its senses are nothing mine own2 ,i know not how ,i or any one else1 can ever die away at any time4 #ah4 ,he who knows himself to be the purely intellectual soul1 and yet ignores it and thinks in himself to be dying as a mortal being2 is verily the destroyer of his soul1 and casts himself into a sea of troubles and misery4 #ai4 ,if ,i am the intellectual soul1 undecaying and everlasting1 and as transparent as the open air2 say then what is life or death to me1 and what means my happiness or misery in any state4 #bj4 ,being the vacuous and intelligent soul1 ,i have no concern with my body2 and any one who being conscious of it1 forgets to believe himself as such1 is verily a destroyer of his soul4 #ba4 ,the foolish man who has lost his consciousness1 of being the purely vacuous soul2 is deemed a living dead body by the wise 7who know the ,one universal soul to constitute the whole74 #bb4 ,the knowledge that ,i am the intelligent soul1 and the bodily senses are not essential to me2 is what leads me to attain to the state of pure spirituality1 which neither death nor misery can deprive me of4 #bc4 ,he who remains firm1 with his reliance in the pure intellectual soul2 is never assailed by calamities1 but remains immune to woes1 as a block of stone to a flight of arrows4 #bd4 ,those who forget their spiritual nature1 and rely their trust in the body2 resemble those foolish people1 who forsake the gold to lay hold on ashes4 #be4 ,the belief that ,i am the body1 its strength and its perceptions1 falsifies my faith in these and destroys my reliance in the spirit2 but my trust in the spirit1 confirms my faith in that by removing my belief in these4 #bf4 ,the belief that ,i am the pure vacuous intellect1 and quite free from birth and death2 is sure to dispel all the illusions of feelings and passions and affections afar from me4 #bg4 ,those who slight the sight of the vacuous intellect1 and view their bodies in the light of the spirit1 deserve the name of corporeal beasts1 and are receptacles of bodily appetites and passions only4 #bh4 ,he who knows himself to be infrangible and uninflammable1 and as the solid and impregnable stone in his intellect1 and not in his unreal body2 cares not a fig for his death 7which destroys the unsubstantial body1 but has no power over his indestructible soul74 #bi4 ,o the delusion6 that over spreads the sight of clear-sighted sages2 who fear for their total annihilation at the loss of their bodies 7which are but component and superficial parts of themselves74 #cj4 ,when we are firmly settled in our belief1 of the indestructible nature of our vacuous intellect2 we are led to regard the fire and thunder of the last day of destruction1 in the light of a shower of flowers over our heads4 #ca4 ,that ,i am the imperishable intellect itself1 and naught that is of a perishable nature2 therefore the wailing of a man and his friends at the point of death1 appears as a ridiculous farce to the wise4 #cb4 ,that ,i am my inner intelligence1 and not the outer body or its sensation1 is a belief which serves as an antidote1 against the poison of all griefs and sorrows4 #cc4 ,that ,i am the vacuous intelligence1 and can never have my quietus or annihilation2 and that the world is full of intelligence1 is a sober truth which can never admit any doubt or controversy 7,lit4--which you can never doubt74 #cd4 ,should you suppose yourselves1 as any other thing beside the intelligence2 then tell me1 ye fools1 why do you talk of the soul in vain1 and what do you mean by the same4 #ce4 ,should the intelligent soul be liable to death1 then it is dead with the dying people every day2 tell me then how ye live and not already dead1 with the departed souls of others8 #cf4 ,therefore the intelligent soul1 doth neither die nor come to life at any time2 it is a false notion of the mind only to think itself to be living and dying1 though it never dies 7being immortal in its nature74 #cg4 ,as the intellect thinks in itself1 it beholds the same within itself2 so it goes on thinking in its habitual mode1 and is never destroyed of itself 7or7 without being ever destroyed in its essence4 #ch4 ,it sees the world in itself1 and is likewise conscious of its freedom2 it knows all what is pleasurable or painful1 without changing itself from its unalterable nature at any time or place4 #ci4 ,by the knowledge of its embodiment1 it is liable to delusions2 but by knowledge of its true nature1 it becomes acquainted with its own freedom4 #dj4 ,there is nothing whatever1 that rises or sets 7i4e4 is produced or destroyed7 at any time or place2 but every thing is contained in the sole and self-existent intellect1 and is displayed in its clear and vacuous sphere4 #da4 ,there is nothing1 that is either real or unreal in the world2 but every thing is taken in the same light1 as it is displayed unto one by the intellect4 #db4 ,whatever the intelligent soul thinks in itself in this world1 it retains the ideas of the same in the mind4 ,every thing is judged by one's consciousness of it1 as the same thing is thought as poison by one1 what is believed to be nectar by another4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxvii4 ,,on ,,the ,,rarity ,,and ,,retiredness ,,of ,,religious ,,recluses4 ,argument3--,the truth of catholicity1 carnality of ,worldly people1 and the retirement and ,resignation of the godly4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the world which is but a vision of the supreme soul1 and situated in the vacuity of the ,divine mind1 appears in our consciousness1 as the ectype of ,brahma himself4 #b4 ,the delusion of the visionary world1 being too palpable to our view1 has kept the supreme spirit quite out of our sight2 as the spirit of the wine is kept hid in the liquor1 though it can never be lost4 #c4 ,the unreal phenomenal being discarded as delusion1 and the real noumenal being incomprehensible2 and the absence of any positive subsistence of existence1 has necessitated our belief in the endless void and vacuity4 #d4 ,that the embodied ,intellect1 called the purusha or soul1 is the supreme cause 7in the ,snkhya system72 and the world proceeds from the unknown principle1 known as the pradhna or its principal source4 ,the truth of this view of the creation1 rests wholly on the opinion of the philosopher 7,kapila74 #e4 ,that the visible world is the form of the all pervasive spirit of ,god1 is the thesis of the ,vedntists2 and this opinion of theirs regarding the formal world and its plasmic principle1 depends solely on the conception of these philosophers4 #f4 ,that the world is a conglomeration of particles1 is the position of the positive and atomic philosophers of the ,nyya system2 and all these doctrines are relied upon and maintained1 by the best belief of every party4 #g4 ,both the present and future worlds are as they are seen and thought to be1 is the tenet of some2 while the spiritualist looks upon it neither in the light of an entity nor non entity either4 #h4 ,others acknowledge the outer world only1 and nothing besides which is beyond their eye sight2 and these ,chrvka atheists1 do not avouch even for the intelligent soul1 which is within their bodies4 #i4 ,there are others1 who seeing the incessant changes and fluctuations of things with the flight of time1 attribute omnipotence to it1 and have become timists1 with a persuasion of the evanescence of the world4 #aj4 ,the belief of the barbarians1 regarding the resurrection of the soul from the grave1 which is built on the analogy of the sparrow flying away from under its covering lid2 has gained a firm ground in the minds of men in these countries1 and is never doubted by any4 #aa4 ,the tolerant sage looks alike and takes in equal light all apparent differences2 since they know that all these varieties in the world1 are but manifestations of the ,one all pervading and invariable soul4 #ab4 ,as it is the nature of the world1 to go on in its course2 so it is natural with the wise1 to entertain these various opinions regarding the same4 ,the truth however is quite mysterious1 and hard to be found by inquiry2 but it is certain that there is an all creative power1 that is guided by intelligence and design in all its works4 #ac4 ,that there is one creator of all1 is the truth arrived at by all godly men and truthful minds2 whoso is certain of this truth1 is sure to arrive at it without any obstruction4 #ad4 ,that this world exists and the future one also1 is the firm belief of the faithful2 and that their sacred ablutions and oblations to that end and never go for nothing2 such assurance on their part1 is sure to lead them to the success of their object4 #ae4 ,an infinite vacuity is reality1 is the conclusion arrived at by the ,buddhist2 but there is nothing to be gained by this inquiry1 nor any good to be derived from a void nullity4 #af4 ,it is the ,divine ,intelligence which is sought by all1 as they seek an inestimable gem or the ,kalpa tree of life2 and this fills our inward soul1 with the fulness of the ,divine spirit4 #ag4 ,the ,lord is neither vacuity nor non-vacuity1 nor a nonentity either as it is maintained by others2 ,he is omnipotent1 and this omnipotence does not abide in ,him1 nor is it without ,him1 but is the selfsame ,himself4 #ah4 ,therefore let every one rely in his own belief1 until he arrives to the true and spiritual knowledge of ,god4 ,by doing so he will obtain the reward of his faith1 and therefore he must refrain from his fickleness 7of forsaking his own faith74 #ai4 ,therefore consult with the learned1 and judge with them about the right course2 and then accept and follow what is best and correct1 and reject all what proves to be otherwise4 #bj4 ,a man becomes wise by knowledge of sstras1 as also by practicing the conduct of the good2 as also by associating with the wise and good1 wherever such persons may be found upon inquiry4 #ba4 ,he who serves and attends upon the preachers of sacred sstras1 and on practicers of good and moral conduct2 is also deemed a wise man1 and his company also is to be resorted to by the wise4 #bb4 ,all living beings1 are naturally impelled towards whatever tends to their real good2 as it is the nature of water to seek its own level4 ,therefore men should choose the company of the good for their best good4 #bc4 ,men are carried away as straws1 by the waves in the eventful ocean of the world2 and their days are passing away as insensibly 7rapidly71 as the dew drops are falling off from the blades of grass4 #bd4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me ,sir1 who are those far seeing persons1 who sensing at first this world to be full of weeds and thorns1 come at last by their right judgment1 to rest in the state of ineffable felicity4 7i4e4 ,who are they that are resigned to ,god after their troublesome journey in the thorny paths of the world74 #be4 ,vasishtha replied3--,it is the wording of the sruti1 that there some such persons among all classes of beings1 whose presence sheds a lustre1 as bright as that of the broad and shining day light4 7,these are gods1 men74 #bf4 ,beside them there are others1 who are quite ignorant of truth1 and are tossed about and whirled up and down like straws1 by the whirling waters of the dangerous eddies of ignorance1 in the dark and dismal ocean of this world4 #bg4 ,these are drowned in their enjoyments1 and lost to the bliss of their souls2 and are ever burning in the flames of worldly cares2 such are some among the gods1 who are burning on high1 like as the mountain trees are inflamed by the wild fire4 #bh4 ,the proud demigods were vanquished by their inimical gods1 and were cast down into the abyss by ,nryana2 as big elephants into the pit1 with the ichor of their giddiness4 #bi4 ,the ,gandharva songsters 7that are skilled in music only71 show no sign of right reason in them2 but being giddy with the wine of melody1 they fall into the hands of death1 as the silly stags are caught in the snare 7by their fondness for the sweet sound of the hunter's horn74 #cj4 ,the ,vidydharas are mad with their knowledge 7of arts1 of sciences72 and do not hold in esteem the esoteric and grand science of divinity for their salvation4 #ca4 ,the yakshas who are impregnable themselves1 are ever apt to injure all others on earth2 and they exercise their noxious powers1 chiefly upon the helpless infants1 old men and weak and infirm persons4 #cb4 ,there are again the gigantic and elephant like ,rkshasas1 who have been repeatedly destroyed by ,hari1 and will be utterly extirpated by you1 as a herd of sheep by a powerful lion4 #cc4 ,the ,pischa cannibals are always in quest of human prey1 and devour their bodies as the burning fire consumes the oblations4 ,they are therefore in utter darkness of spiritual knowledge4 #cd4 ,the ,nga race that dwell underneath the ground1 resemble the stalks of lotuses drowned under the water1 or as the roots of trees buried under the earth 7and therefore they are quite insensible of truth74 #ce4 ,the ,asura race dwelling in subterranean cells1 are as worms and insects1 grovelling in dark under the ground1 and are utterly ignorant of any knowledge or discrimination4 #cf4 ,and what must we say of foolish mankind1 who like the poor ants1 are moving busily by night and day1 in search of a morsel 7lit4--particle7 of bread 7and have not a whit of understanding in them74 #cg4 ,all living bodies are running up and down for ever1 in their vain expectations2 and the days and nights are insensibly gliding over them1 as upon drunken men 7unconscious of themselves74 #ch4 ,the knowledge of pure truth1 never enters into the mind of men2 as the dust flying over the surface of water never sink in its depth4 #ci4 ,the holy vows of men are blown away1 by the blasts of their pride and vanity2 as the husks of rice are blown off1 by the wind of the threshing mill4 #dj4 ,other people that are without true knowledge1 are like the yogins and ,pamaras--pariahs1 are addicted to the carnalities of their eating and drinking2 and to roll in stink and stench and mud and mire4 #da4 ,among the gods1 only ,yama1 the sun and moon1 ,indra and ,rudras1 and ,varuna and ,vyu1 are said to live liberated for ever2 and so are ,brahm1 ,hari and ,vrihaspati and ,sukra1 7the preceptors of the gods and demigods74 #db4 ,among the patriarchs ,daxa1 ,kasyapa and others1 are said to be living liberated2 and among the seven sages1 ,nrada1 ,sanaka and goddess born ,kumara are liberated for ever4 #dc4 ,among the ,danava demons1 there were some that had their emancipation also2 and these were ,hiranyaksha1 ,vali1 ,prahlada and ,sambara1 together with ,maya1 ,vritra1 ,andha1 ,namuchi1 ,kesi1 ,mura and others4 7,some of whom were foes and others as friends of the god74 #dd4 ,among ,rkshasas ,vibhisana1 ,prahasta and ,indrajit are held as liberated2 and so are ,sesha1 ,taxaka1 ,karkota and some others among the ,ngas or serpent race4 #de4 ,the liberated are entitled to dwell in the abodes of ,brahma and ,vishnu1 and in the heaven of ,indra2 and there are some the manes of the ,pitris1 siddhas and ,sddhyas1 that are reckoned as liberated also4 #df4 ,among the human race also1 there are some that are liberated in their life time2 as the few princes1 saints and ,brhmanas1 whose names are preserved to us in the sacred records4 #dg4 ,there are living beings in multitudes1 on all sides of us in this earth1 but there are very few among them that are enlightened with true knowledge in them2 there are unnumbered trees and forests growing all around us1 and bearing their fruits and flowers and foliage to no end2 but there is scarcely a kalpatree to be found among them 7which may yield to us the fruit that we ardently desire74 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxviii4 ,,praise ,,of ,,good ,,society1 ,,or ,,association ,,with ,,the ,,good ,,and ,,wise4 ,argument3--,character of the truly ,wise man1 his best test1 and company4 ,vasishtha continued3--,those among the judicious and wise1 that are indifferent to and unconcerned with the world1 and resigned to the divinity1 and resting in his state of supreme felicity2 have all their desires and delusions abated1 and their enemies lessened in this world4 #b4 ,he is neither gladdened nor irritated at any thing1 nor engages in any matter1 nor employs himself in the accumulation of earthly effects4 ,he does not annoy any body1 nor is he annoyed by any one4 #c4 ,he does not bother his head about theism or atheism1 nor torment his body with religious austerities2 he is agreeable and sweet in his demeanour1 and is pleasing and genteel in his conversation4 #d4 ,his company gladdens the hearts of all1 as the moonlight delights the minds of men2 he is circumspect in all affairs1 and the best judge in all matters4 #e4 ,he is without any anxiety in his conduct1 and is polite and friendly to all2 he manages patiently all his outward business1 but is quite cool in his inward mind4 #f4 ,he is learned in the sstras1 and takes a delight in their exposition2 he knows all people and both past and present2 and knows also what is good and bad for any1 and is content with whatever comes to pass on him4 #g4 ,the wise act according to the established usage of good people1 and refrain from what is opposed to it2 they gladden all men with their free admonitions1 as the zephyr regales them with the gratuitous odours of flowers2 and they afford a ready reception and board to the needy4 #h4 ,they treat with respect the needy that repair to their doors2 just as the blooming lotus entertains the bee1 that resorts to the same2 and they attract the heart of people1 by their endeavours1 to save them from their sins4 #i4 ,they are as cold as any cooling thing1 or like the clouds in the rainy season2 and as sedate as rocks1 and capable of removing the calamities of people1 by their meritorious acts4 #aj4 ,they have the power to prevent the impending dangers of men1 as the mountains keep the earth from falling at the earth-quake2 they support the failing spirit of men in their calamitous circumstances1 and congratulate with them in their prosperity4 #aa4 ,their countenances are as comely as the fair face of the moon1 and they are as well wishers of men1 as their loving consorts2 their fame fills the world as flowers of spring in order to produce the fruits of general good4 #ab4 ,holy men are as the vernal season1 and their voice as the notes of kokilas1 delighting all mankind2 and their minds are as profound oceans1 undisturbed by the turbulent waves and eddies of passions and thoughts of other people4 #ac4 ,they pacify the troubled minds of others1 by their wise counsels1 as the cold weather calms the turbulent waters and seas1 and puts to rest their boisterous waves4 #ad4 ,they resemble the robust rocks on the sea-shore1 withstanding the force of the dashing surges of worldly troubles and afflictions2 which overwhelm and bewilder the minds of mankind4 #ae4 ,these saintly men are resorted to by good people only1 at the times of their utmost danger and distress2 and these and the like are the signs1 whereby these good hearted people1 are distinguished from others4 #af4 ,let the weary traveller rely for his rest in his ,maker alone1 in his tiresome journey through this world2 which resembles the rough sea1 filled with huge whales and dragons4 #ag4 ,there is no other means for getting over this hazardous ocean1 without the company of the good1 which like a stout vessel safely bears him across4 ,there is no reasoning required to prove it so1 but it must be so4 #ah4 ,therefore do not remain as a dull sloth in the den1 to brood over your sorrows in vain2 but repair to the wise man who possesses any one of these virtues for your redress1 by leaving all other concerns4 #ai4 ,mind not his fault but respect his merit1 and learn to scan the good and bad qualities of men from thy youth with all diligence4 #bj4 ,first of all and by all means improve your understanding1 by the company of the good and careful study of the sstras2 and serve all good people without minding their faults4 #ba4 ,shun the society of men 7whether friends or relatives71 who are conspicuous for some great and incorrigible crime2 otherwise it will change the sweet composure of your mind1 to bitterness and disquiet4 7,so in ,raghuvansa3--,the society of wicked friend1 is to be cut off as an ulcerous limb74 #bb4 ,this ,i know from my observation1 of the righteous turning to unrighteousness2 this is the greatest of all evils 7and must be feared71 when the honest turn to be dishonest4 #bc4 ,this change and falling off of good men1 from their moral rectitude1 have been seen in many places and at different times2 wherefore it is necessary to choose the company of the good only1 for one's safety in this and salvation in the next world4 #bd4 ,therefore no one should live afar from the society of the good and great2 who are ever to be regarded with respect and esteem2 because the company of the good though slightly courted1 is sure to purify the newcomer with the flying fragrance of their virtues4 ,,chapter ,,lxxxxix4 ,a ,,discourse ,,on ,,esoteric ,,or ,,spiritual ,,knowledge4 ,argument3--,the share of the ,brute creation in the enjoyments of life1 and its varieties in various grades of ,beings4 ,rma rejoined3--,verily we 7rational beings71 have a great many means1 for relieving our pains4 ,such as our reason1 the precepts of the sstras1 the advices of our friends and the society of the wise and good2 beside the applications of mantras and medicines1 the giving of charities1 performances of religious austerities1 going to pilgrimages and resorting to holy places 7all which have the efficacy of removing our calamities and rendering us happy74 #b4 ,but tell me what is the state of the brute creation such as of the worms and insects1 birds and flies1 and the other creeping1 crawling and bending animals2 whether they are not alike susceptible with ourselves of pain and pleasure1 and what means they have to remedy their pains and evils4 #c4 ,vasishtha replied3--,all creatures whether animals or vegetables1 are destined to partake of the particular enjoyments1 which are allotted to their respective shares2 and are ever tending towards that end4 #d4 ,all living beings from the noble and great to the mean and minute1 have their appetites and desires like ourselves2 but the difference consists in their lesser or greater proportion in us and themselves4 7i4e4 ,mankind is actuated in a lesser degree by their passions and appetites than their violence in the brute tribes74 #e4 ,as the great ,virt-like big bodies1 are actuated by their passions and feelings1 so also the little vlyakhilyas or puny tribes of insects1 are fed by their self love to pursue their own ends4 #f4 ,behold the supportless fowls of the firmament1 flying and falling in the air1 are quite content with roving in empty vacuity1 without seeking a place for their rest4 #g4 ,look at the incessant endeavours of the little emmet1 in search of its food and hoarding its store like ourselves1 for the future provision of our families1 and never resting content for a moment4 #h4 ,there the little mollusks1 as minute as atoms of dust1 and yet as quick in quest of its food1 as when the swift eagle is in pursuit of its prey1 in the etherial sphere4 #i4 ,as the world passes with us in the thoughts of ourselves1 our egoism and meity of this and that2 so it goes on with every creature1 in its selfish thoughts and cares for its own kind4 7,self-love is the prime mover of all living bodies1 towards their own good74 #aj4 ,the lives of filthy worms are spent like ours1 in their toil and anxious care for food and provisions1 at all places and times of their duration in the world4 #aa4 ,the vegetable creation is some what more awakened1 in their state of existence1 than mineral productions1 which continue as dead and dormant for ever4 ,but the worms and insects1 are as awakened from their dormancy as men1 in order to remain restless for ever4 #ab4 ,their lives are as miserable as ours1 upon this earth of sin and pain1 and their death is as desirable as ours1 in order to set us free from misery after a short-lived pain4 #ac4 ,as a man sold and transported to a foreign country1 sees all things with wonder that are not his own2 so it is with the brute animals1 to see all strange things in this earth4 #ad4 ,all animals find every thing on earth1 to be either as painful or pleasant to them1 as they are to us also2 but they have not the ability like us1 to distinguish what is good for them from whatever is noxious to them4 #ae4 ,brute animals are dragged by their bridles and nose-strings1 as men who are sold as slaves to labour in distant lands1 have to bear with all sorts of pains and privation1 without being able to communicate or complain of them to any body4 #af4 ,the trees and plants and their germs1 are liable to similar pains and troubles like us1 when our thin-skinned bodies are annoyed by inclement weather1 or assailed by gnats and bugs1 during the time of our sleep 7i4e4 ,the vegetable tribe is equally sensible of pain as the animal in their sleeping state74 #ag4 ,and as we mortals on earth1 have our knowledge of things--padrtha-vedana1 and the sagacity of forsaking a famine stricken place for our welfare else where2 so it is with the bending brutes and birds1 to emigrate from lands of scarcity to those of plenty4 7i4e4 ,brutes are alike discerning as men74 #ah4 ,the delightsome is equally delectable to all1 and the ,god ,indra as well as a worm1 are alike inclined towards what is pleasurable to them2 and this tendency to pleasure proceeds from their own option of choice4 ,this freedom of choice is not denied to any but is irresistible in all1 and he who knows his free will 7or self agency71 is altogether free and liberated4 7,the text uses two words viz41 ,vikshepa or projection of the soul 7or inclination71 as actuated by ,vikalpa or one's free choice of anything4 ,this passage establishes the doctrine of free choice and self agency of all living beings1 against the common belief in an imperious fatality74 #ai4 ,the pleasure and pain1 arising from the passions and feelings1 and from enjoyments in life2 and torments of diseases and death1 are alike to all living beings4 #bj4 ,except the knowledge of things1 and that of past and future events1 as also of the arts of life2 all the various kinds of animals1 are possest of all other animal faculties and propensities like those of mankind4 #ba4 ,the drowsy vegetable kingdom1 and the dormant mountain and other insensible natures2 are fully sensible in themselves1 of a vacuous intellectual power whereon they subsist4 7,they are as the inactive but meditative yogis1 who with their external insensibility1 are internally conscious of the ,divine spirit74 #bb4 ,but there are some that deny the sensibility of an intellectual spirit1 in the dormant and fixed bodies of arbours and mountains2 and allow the consciousness of the vacuous intellect1 but in a very slight degree1 in moving animals and in the majority of living and ignorant part of mankind4 #bc4 ,the solid state of mountains and the sleepy nature of the vegetable creation1 being devoid of the knowledge of a dualism 7other than their own natures7 have no sense of the existence of the world1 except that of a non-entity or mere vacuity4 #bd4 ,the knowledge of the entity of the world1 is accompanied with utter ignorance of its nature or agnosticism2 for when we know not ourselves or the subjective1 how is it possible for us to know the objective world4 #be4 ,the world is situated as ever1 in its state of dumb torpidity1 like a dull block of wood or stone2 it is without its beginning and end1 and without an aperture in it1 and is as the dreaming wakefulness of a sleeping man4 #bf4 ,the world exists in the same state1 as it did before its creation2 and it will continue to go on for ever even as now2 because eternity is always the same both before and after4 #bg4 ,it is neither the subjective nor objective1 nor the plenum nor vacuum2 nor is it a mute substance nor any thing whatever4 #bh4 ,remain thou as thou art1 and let me remain as ,i am2 and being exempt from pleasure or pain in our state of vacuity1 we find nothing existent nor non-existent herein4 #bi4 ,say why you forsake your state of absolute nothingness1 and what you get in your visionary city of this world2 it is all calm and quiet without1 as your vacuous ,intellect is serene and clear within you4 #cj4 ,it is the want of right knowledge1 that causes our error of the world2 but no sooner do we come to detect this false knowledge of ours1 than this error flies away from us4 #ca4 ,the world being known as a dream1 and having no reality in it1 it is as vain to place any reliance therein1 as to place one's affections on the son of a barren woman1 or confide in such a one4 #cb4 ,when the dream of the world is known to be a mere dream or false1 even at the time of dreaming it in sleep2 what faith or confidence can be relied on it1 on one's coming to know its nothingness upon his waking4 #cc4 ,what is known in the waking state1 could not be otherwise in that of sleep2 whatever is known in the later hour of coming to its knowledge1 the same must have been its previous state also4 7i4e4 ,the world is nothing1 both in the states of its knowledge as well as ignorance74 #cd4 ,there are the three times of present1 past and future1 and our knowledge of these1 proceeds from our ignorance of endless duration2 which is the only real tranquil and universal substratum of all 7and this is the attribute of the ever unchanging ,one74 #ce4 ,as the breaking of breakers1 by the dashing of waves against one another1 does no harm to the waters of the sea2 so the molestation or destruction of one body by another1 does no injury to the inward soul1 which is ever impregnable and also indestructible4 #cf4 ,it is the vacuous ,intellect within us1 that gives rise to the erroneous conception of our bodies2 wherefore the loss of the body or its false conception1 does not affect our intellect and ourselves neither4 #cg4 ,the waking soul sees the world1 situated in the vacuity of ,intellect1 as it were in its sleep2 and this of creation in the mind being devoid of materiality1 is very like a dream2 7which proceeds from reminiscence only74 #ch4 ,the ideas 7dhi7 of material things1 are produced in the beginning of creation1 from their previous impressions left in the intellect2 and the world being but a dream or work of imagination2 it is an error of the brain to take it for a reality4 #ci4 ,the traces of prior dreams and reminiscences 7of previous birth71 being preserved in the memory or mind2 the same things appear and reappear in it 7in later births71 and represent their aerial shapes as substantial figures 7as some pictures appear true to life74 #dj4 ,this error has taken possession of the mind1 in the same manner as the untrue is taken for truth3 while the transcendent and clear truth of the omniform soul is rejected as untrue4 #da4 ,in reality there is the ,divine ,intellect only1 that has existed for ever2 and this being the most certain truth that ,brahma is all in all1 the doctrine of reminiscence and oblivion goes to nothing4 #db4 ,it is sheer ignorance1 which is devoid of this spiritual knowledge1 and views things in their physical light only2 and in this lies the true knowledge1 which breaks open the door of ignorance4 7i4e4 ,spiritualism alone1 dispels the gloom of materialism74 #dc4 ,there remains nothing at last1 after expulsion of the error of materiality2 except the pure spirit of ,god1 who is both the viewer and the view1 or the subjective and objective in himself4 #dd4 ,as the reflexion of anything falling on a mirror1 shows the figure of that thing within itself2 so the world shines of itself in the vacuity of the ,divine ,intellect1 and with the reflection of anything else1 being ever cast upon it4 #de4 ,as the reflexion of a thing1 exhibits itself in its bosom1 though nobody was to look at it2 so the world is shown in the ,divine ,intellect1 though the same is invisible to every one4 #df4 ,whatever is found as true1 both by reason and proof1 the same must be the certain truth2 all else is mere semblance of it2 and not being actual can never be true4 #dg4 ,and though the knowledge of the material world1 is proved to be false and untrue1 yet it is found to mislead us1 as the act of somnambulation does in our sleep and dreaming state4 #dh4 ,it is the lustre of the ,divine ,luminary1 that casts its reflexion into the ,intellect1 and emblazons the intellectual sphere supremely bright4 ,tell me therefore what are we and this pageant of the world1 any more than a rchauff or a print of that archetype4 #di4 ,if there is a resuscitation of ourselves after our demise1 then what is it that is lost to us2 and should there be no regeneration of us after death1 then there is a perfect tranquility of our souls1 by our utter extinction1 and emancipation from the pains of life and death4 ,or if we have our liberation by the light of philosophy1 then there nothing here1 that lends to our woe in any state whatsoever4 #ej4 ,the ignorant man alone knows the state of the ignorant1 wherein the wise are quite ignorant2 as the fishes alone know the perilous state of the stag1 that is fallen amidst the waves and eddies of the sea4 #ea4 ,it is the open sphere of the ,divine ,intellect only1 that represents the divers images of ,i1 thou1 he and this and that in its hollow space2 as a tree shows the sundry forms of its leaves1 fruits1 flowers c41 in its all producing body or stem4 ,,chapter ,c4 ,,refutation ,,of ,,atheism4 ,argument3--,refutation of the ,atheistical doctrine of the materiality of the soul4 ,rma rejoined3--,please to tell me1 sir1 what are your arguments1 for allaying the miseries of this world1 against the position 7paksha7 of others who maintain in that3-- #b4 ,a living being is happy so long1 as the dread of death 7either of himself or others7 is out of his view2 and that there is no reappearance 7revivification7 of the dead1 that is already reduced to ashes4 7,hence there is no happiness either for the living or dead 7according to them774 #c4 ,vasishtha replied3--,whatever is the certain belief of any body1 he finds the same in his consciousness2 and that he feels and conceives accordingly1 is a truth that is well known to all mankind 7that every one thinks according to his belief74 #d4 ,as the firmament is firm1 quiet and ubiquitous1 so also is the ubiquity of the ,intellect 7i4e4 the vacuous intellect is also allpervading71 and are considered to form a duality by the ignorant dualist1 while the sapient take them as the one and same thing1 from the impossibility of conceiving the co-existence of two things from eternity4 #e4 ,it is wrong to suppose the existence of a chaos before creation began1 for that would be assigning another 7chaotic7 cause to the creation when has proceeded from ,brahma1 who is without a cause and is diffused in his creation4 #f4 ,he who does not acknowledge the purport of the ,vedas1 7that all things are produced from ,brahma71 and the final great dissolution 7when all things are dissolved in and return to him72 are known as men without a revelation and religion1 and are considered as dead by us 7i4e4 spiritually dead74 #g4 ,those whose minds are settled in the undisputed belief of the sstras1 that all these is ,brahm or the varied god himself2 are persons with whom we have to hold no discussion or argument4 #h4 ,as our consciousness is ever awake in our minds1 and without any intermission2 so ,brahma that constitutes our consciousness1 is ever wakeful in us1 whether the body lasts or not4 #i4 ,if our perceptions are to produce our consciousness1 then must man be very miserable indeed2 because the sense of a feeling1 other than that of the ever felicitous state of the soul1 is what actually makes us so4 #aj4 ,knowing the universe as the splendours of the intellectual vacuum 7i4e4 in the sphere of the vacuous intellect72 you cannot suppose the knowledge of anything1 or the feeling of any pleasure or pain1 ever to attach or stick to an empty nothing4 7i4e4 to the vacuous spirit74 #aa4 ,hence men who are quite certain and conscious1 of the entirety and pure unity of the soul1 can never find the feelings of sorrow or grief1 to rise in or overwhelm it in any way than the dust of earth rising to the sky1 and filling its sphere with foulness4 7,this passage rests on text of the sruti which says3 there is no sorrow or pain to any body who sees the pure unity only74 #ab4 ,whether the consciousness of unity1 be true or not in all men2 yet the common notion of it even in the minds of boys1 cannot be discarded as untrue4 7i4e4 ,all men may differ in their conceptions respecting the nature of the ,divine soul1 but they all agree in the notion of one prime cause of all4 ,see kusumanjali74 #ac4 ,the body is not the soul nor the living spirit1 nor any other thing of which we have any conception2 ,it is the consciousness which is every thing1 and the world is as it conceives it to be4 7,there is nothing beyond our consciousness of it74 #ad4 ,whether it is true or not1 yet we have the conception of our bodies by means of this2 and it gives us conceptions of all things in earth1 water and heaven1 independent of their material forms1 as we see the aerial forms of things in our dreams4 7i4e4 ,we are conscious only of the abstract notions of things1 and of their substantial properties74 #ae4 ,whether our consciousness is a real entity or not1 yet it is this power which is called the conscious soul2 and whatever is the conviction of this power1 the same is received as positive truth by all4 #af4 ,the authority of all the sstras1 rests upon the proof of consciousness2 and the truth which is generally arrived at by all1 must be acknowledged as quite certain in my opinion also4 #ag4 ,therefore the consciousness of atheists1 which is vitiated by their misunderstanding1 being purified afterwards by right reasoning1 becomes productive of good results likewise 7i4e4 of producing the fruit of their liberation also74 #ah4 ,but a perverted conscience or vitiated understanding1 is never reproved by any means2 either by performance of pious acts at any time or place1 or by study of vedas1 or by pursuit of other things4 #ai4 ,errors of the understanding 7avidy7 recur to the reprobate as often as they corrected from time to time2 say therefore what other means can there be1 to preserve our consciousness from fallacy4 #bj4 ,self-consciousness is the soul of man1 and in proportion to its firmness or weakness1 the happiness or misery of man1 increases or decreases accordingly4 7i4e4 ,the strong minded are always prosperous74 #ba4 ,if there is a consciousness in men1 and such men also who are conscious of the ,divine essence in them1 and those who are resorted to by the pious1 for their liberation from the bonds of the world2 then this world would appear as a dead and dumb block of stone1 and a dark and dreary desert4 #bb4 ,the knowledge of nature or gross materialism1 which rises in the mind of man1 for want of his knowledge of the consciousness of himself1 is like the dark ignorance in which one is involved in his sleep4 #bc4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me ,sir1 how is that atheist who denies the end of the ten sides of heaven1 and disbelieves the destruction of the world2 who believe only in what is existent1 and have no thought of inexistence 7either prior to the creation or after its dissolution74 #bd4 ,who does not perceive the perfect wisdom1 which is displayed throughout the universe2 but sees only whatever is visible1 without knowing their destruction 7frailty74 7,the atheists consider the world as eternal74 #be4 ,tell me ,sir1 what are their arguments1 about allaying the evils of the world2 and remove my doubts about it1 for increase of my knowledge in this important truth4 #bf4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i have already given my reply to your query regarding the infidels 7that they are not to be spoken to72 hear me now to give the reply with regard to your second question touching the salvation of the soul4 #bg4 ,o best of men ,rma6 you have spoken in this sense1 that the human soul 7purusha7 is constituted of the intelligence alone 7as you think it to be and which is but a flash of the ,divine ,intellect1 and the measure of the objects of consciousness74 #bh4 ,this intelligence 7or intelligent soul7 is indestructible1 and is not destroyed with the destruction of the body1 but is joined with the ,divine ,intelligence without fail4 ,or if the body be indestructible 7owing to its resurrection after death71 then there is no cause of sorrow at its temporary loss4 #bi4 ,the intelligence is said to be divided into various parts1 in the souls of men and different members of their bodies2 if so it be1 then the intelligence is destroyed with the destruction of individual souls and bodily members also4 7,therefore the supremely intelligent soul is beyond these74 #cj4 ,the self-conscious soul that is liberated in the living state1 has no more to return to earth after death2 but the consciousness which is not purified by divine knowledge1 cannot be exempted from its transmigration to this world4 #ca4 ,those again that deny the existence of consciousness1 such souls are doomed to the gross ignorance of stones 7i4e4 to become stony block heads7 for this disbelief of theirs4 #cb4 ,as the knowledge of sensible objects1 keeps the mind in utter darkness2 so the death of such persons is calculated as their final bliss1 because they have no more to feel the sensibles nor view the visible world any more 7although they are deprived of their spiritual bliss74 #cc4 ,men of pure understandings2 who have lost the sense of their corporeality1 are never to be reborn on earth any more2 but those of dull understandings1 become as gross corporeal bodies and are involved in impenetrable darkness 7i4e4 the gloom of ignorance according to the dictum of the sruti74 #cd4 ,those intellectual philosophers 7vijnna-vdis71 who view the world as an aerial city in his dream2 to them the world presents its aspect as a phantom and no other4 7,the world is a day dream1 and its sight a delusion4 ,in haman ke didam khab bud74 #ce4 ,there are some that maintain the stability1 and others asserting the frailty of the world and every thing2 but what do they gain by these opinions1 since the knowledge of either1 neither augments the amount of human happiness1 nor lessens any quantity of mortal misery 7i4e4 the misery of mortals74 #cf4 ,the stability or unstability1 of the greatest or least of things1 makes no difference in any of them whatever2 they are all alike the radiating rays of the intellect1 though they appear as extended bodies to the ignorant4 #cg4 ,those who assign unlimitedness to the essence of consciousness1 and of limitation to that of insensibility2 and maintain the permanence of the one and the transience of the other1 talk mere nonsense like the babbling of boys4 #ch4 ,they are the best and most venerable of men1 who know the body to be the product of and encompassed by the intellect4 ,and they are the meanest among mankind1 who believe the intellect as the produce and offspring of the body2 7and these are ,kanada and ,nyya philosophers of gross materialism1 who believe intelligence as a resultant of the material body74 #ci4 ,the intellect 7personified as ,hiranyagarbha or ,brahm the ,divine spirit71 is distributed into the souls of all living beings2 and the infinite space of vacuity1 is as a net work or curtain1 which all animal lives1 flying within its ample expanse like bodies of gnats and flies1 and rising up and sinking below or moving all about1 as the shoals of fishes in the interminable ocean4 7,the ,divine ,intellect or spirit1 is the collection of all specialities74 #dj4 ,as this universal soul1 thinks of creating the various species2 so it conceives them within itself1 as the seeds conceive the future plants in themselves1 and the same are developed afterward4 #da4 ,whatever lives or living beings1 it thinks of or conceives in itself2 the same spring forth quickly from it1 and this truth is known even to boys 7from the repeated texts importing the ,lord as the fountain of all74 #db4 ,as the vapours fly in the air1 and as the waters roll in the ocean2 and as they form curls and waves of various kinds1 so the lives of living beings1 are continually floating in the vacuum of the ,divine ,intellect4 #dc4 ,as the vacuity of the ,intellect1 presents the sight of a city to a man in his dream2 so the world presents its variegated aspects since its first creation1 to the sight of the day dreaming man4 #dd4 ,there were no co-ordinate causes of material bodies 7as earth1 water c471 at the first formation of the world2 but it rose spontaneously of itself as the empty sights appearing in our dream4 #de4 ,as in a city seen in dream1 its houses and their apartments1 come to appear gradually to sight2 so the dream becomes enlarged and expanded and divided by degrees to our vision4 #df4 ,all this creation is but the empty void of the intellect1 7or as pictures drawn in empty air72 there is no duality or variety in it1 but is one even plane of the intellect1 like the open sky1 without any spot or place attached to it4 #dg4 ,the moon-light of the ,intellect1 diffuses its coolness on all sides1 and gladdens the souls of all beings2 it scatters the beams of intellection all around1 and casts its reflexions in the image of the world4 #dh4 ,the world as it is now visible to us1 lies for ever in the mind of ,god in the same vacuous state1 as it was before its creation2 and as it is to be reduced to nothing upon its final destruction4 ,it is the twinkling1 or the opening and closing of the intellectual eye1 that this empty shadow of the world1 appears and disappears amidst the universal vacuum of the ,divine ,mind4 #di4 ,whoever views this world in any light1 it appears to him in the same manner 7as some thinking it a solid plenum1 and others as an empty vacuum74 ,and as it depends upon the ,intellect alone1 it is exhibited in various forms according to the caprice of its observers4 #ej4 ,the minds of the intelligent1 are as pure as the clear sphere of the summer sky2 and the pure hearted and holy people1 think themselves as nothing else1 beside their intellects or as intellectual beings only4 #ea4 ,these pious and holy people1 are free from ignorance and the faults of society2 they share the gifts of fortune1 as it falls to them by the common lot of mankind2 and they continue in the conduct of their worldly affairs1 like some working machine 7acting externally and without taking any thing to mind74 ,,chapter ,,ci4 ,a ,,sermon ,,on ,,spirituality4 ,argument3--,that self-consciousness is same with the pure soul1 whose presence is preventive of the causes of all human woes and fears4 7,here consciousness is synonymous with conscientiousness74 ,vasishtha continued3--,thus it is the ,intellect only which is the soul of the body also1 and which is situated every where in the manner as said before2 and there is nothing which is so self-evident as the ,intellect 7or self-consciousness74 #b4 ,this is the clear expanse of the sky and1 it is the medium of the vision of the viewer and visibles2 it composes and encompasses the whole world1 and therefore there is nothing to be had or lost without it4 #c4 ,the doctrinaires of the atheistic school of ,brihaspati1 that disbelieve the future state because of their ignorance of it2 are believers of the present from their knowledge hereof4 ,thus knowledge or consciousness being the basis of their belief1 we bear no favour nor disfavour to their doctrine4 7,we neither favor nor hate74 #d4 ,the world being but a name for the dream1 which is produced in the vacuum of our hidden knowledge2 say what cause is there for the debate of disputants1 in their one sided view of the question4 #e4 ,our consciousness knows well in itself1 what is good or bad1 and therefore acceptable or not4 ,the pure soul is manifest in the clear vacuity of air1 where there is neither this nor that view of it1 exhibited to anyone4 #f4 ,the conscious soul is immortal1 ,o ,rma1 and is not of the form of a rock or tree or any animal2 consciousness is a mere vacuum1 and all being and not being 7i4e4 our birth and deaths are as the waves and curling waters1 in its ocean of eternity74 #g4 ,we are all floating in the vacuum of consciousness1 both ,i and thou and he as well as any other2 and none of us is ever liable to die1 because consciousness is never susceptible of death4 #h4 ,consciousness has nothing to be conscious but of itself only2 and therefore1 ,o big eyed ,rma1 where can you get a duality1 except the single subjectivity of the ,intellect8 7,to ,make the ,intellect both as subjective as well as objective1 is something like the supposition of its riding on itself74 #i4 ,tell me1 ,o ,rma6 what is the product or offspring of the vacuous ,intellect1 and tell me also if that ,intellect would die away1 whence could we and all others proceed any more4 7,this proves the immortality of the ,intellect1 whence as all things are incessantly proceeding from74 #aj4 ,tell me what sort of beings are these atheistic disputants1 the saugatas1 ,lokyatikas and others2 if they are devoid of their consciousness1 which they so strenuously deny and disallow4 #aa4 ,it is this vacuous consciousness which some name as ,brahma1 and which some style as knowledge and others as the empty vacuum4 #ab4 ,some call it the spirit 7of bodies71 like that of spirituous liquors2 and others 7as the sankhyas71 use the term purusha or embodied spirit for it4 ,others 7as the yogis71 call it the vacuous ,intellect1 while others as the saivas1 give it the names of ,siva and the soul 7and so it is called by various other names by others74 #ac4 ,it is sometimes styled the ,intellect only1 which makes no difference of it from the other attributes4 ,the supreme soul is ever the same in itself1 by whatever name it is expressed by the ignorance of men4 #ad4 ,be my body as big as a hill1 or crushed to atoms as dust2 it is no gain or loss to me in any wise either1 since ,i am the same intellectual body or being for ever and ever4 #ae4 ,our sires and grand sires1 are all dead and gone2 but their intellects and intellectual parts1 are not dead and lost with their bodies2 for in the case of their demise1 we would not have their regeneration in us4 7,because the sruti says1 8atm vai jyate putra10 the soul is regenerated in the son74 #af4 ,the vacuous ,intellect is neither generated nor destroyed at any time1 but is increate and imperishable at all times2 say how and when could the eternal void come to or disappear from existence4 #ag4 ,the infinite and indestructible sphere of the ,intellect1 displays the scene of the universe in its ample space of vacuity1 it is without its vicissitudes of rising or setting1 and is ever existent in the supreme soul4 #ah4 ,the ,intellect represents the reflexion of the world in its clear sphere1 as a crystal mountain reflects a wild fire in its translucent bosom2 and rests for ever in the vacuum of the supreme soul1 which is devoid of its beginning1 middle and end4 #ai4 ,as the shades of night obscure the visibles from sight1 so the clouds of ignorance darken the bright aspect of the universe1 as it is represented in the soul divine4 #bj4 ,as the waters of the ocean1 roll of themselves in the forms of waves and eddies2 so doth the ,intellect exhibit the pageant of the universe1 of itself and in itself from all eternity4 #ba4 ,the ,intellect itself is the soul of the body1 and like air is never extinct or wanting any where2 therefore it is all in vain1 to be in fear of one's death at any time4 7,life and death are indifferent to the yogi74 #bb4 ,it is a great joy to pass from one into another body 7as there is in quitting a decayed house for a new one72 therefore say ye fools1 why do ye fear and grieve to die1 when there every cause to rejoice at it4 #bc4 ,if after death there be no regeneration of the dead1 then it is a consummation devoutly to be wished2 because it eases and releases at once1 from the heart burning disease and dread1 of being and not being1 and their repeated woes and miseries by turns4 7,to be and not be2 that is the question c474 #bd4 ,therefore life and death1 are neither for our weal or woe2 because they are neither of them any thing in reality1 except the representations of the intellect4 7,the mind paints them in different colours74 #be4 ,if the dead are to be reborn in new bodies1 it is a cause of rejoicing and sorrowing2 and the death or destruction of the decayed body for a sound one1 is accounted as a change for better4 #bf4 ,if death convey the meaning of the ultimate dissolution of a person1 it is desirable even in that sense1 for the cessation of our pains altogether2 or it is used to mean one's resuscitation in a new body and life1 it must be a cause of great rejoicing4 #bg4 ,if death be dreaded for fear of the punishment1 awaiting on the vicious deeds of the dead2 it is even so in this life also for the penalties waiting on our quilt even here3 refrain therefore from doing evil1 for your safety and happiness in both worlds4 #bh4 ,you all are ever crying lest ye die2 but none of you is ever heard to say1 that you are going to live again4 #bi4 ,what is the meaning of life and death1 and where are the lands where these are seen to take place8 ,do they not occur in our consciousness alone1 and turn about in the vacuum of the mind8 #cj4 ,remain firm with your conscious souls1 and eat and drink and act your part with indifference2 for being situated in the midst of vacuity1 you can have nothing to ask or wish for4 #ca4 ,being carried away in the reverie of your dream1 and enjoying the gifts of time and changing circumstances2 live content with what is got without fear1 and know this as the holiest state4 #cb4 ,regardless of the intervening evils1 which over take us in every place and time2 the holy sage conducts himself with equanimity1 as a sleeping man over the tumults of life4 #cc4 ,the holy sage is neither sorry at his death1 nor glad of his life and longevity2 he neither likes nor hates any thing1 nor does he desire aught whatever4 #cd4 ,the wise man that knows all what is knowable1 manages to live in this world as an ignorant simpleton2 he is as firm and fearless as a rock1 and reckons his life and death as rotten and worthless straws4 ,,chapter ,,cii4 ,,exposition ,,of ,,buddhism ,,and ,,disproving ,,of ,,death4 ,argument3--,showing the utility of ,buddhistic doctrines in strengthening the ,mind to cool apathy4 ,rma rejoined3--,tell me sir1 the perfection which a holy man attains to1 after he is acquainted with the supreme essence1 which is without its beginning and end4 #b4 ,vasishtha replied3--,hear the high state to which the holy man arrives1 after he has known the knowable2 and the mode of his life and conduct1 throughout the whole course of his existence4 #c4 ,he lives apart from human society1 in his solitary retreat in the woods1 and there has the stones of the dales1 the trees of the forest1 and the young antelopes1 for his friends1 kindred and associates4 #d4 ,the most populous city1 is deemed as a lonely desert by him2 his calamities are his blessings1 and all his dangers are festivities to him4 #e4 ,his pains are his pleasure1 and his meditations are as musings to him2 he is silent in all his dealings1 and quiet in all his conduct through life4 #f4 ,he is somnolent in his waking hours1 and remains as dead to himself while he is living2 he manages all his affairs with a coolness1 as if he was engaged in nothing4 #g4 ,he is pleasant without tasting any pleasure1 and is friendly to his fellow beings without any selfish interest of his own2 he is strict to himself but ever kind to others1 and is undesirous of everything1 with his full desire for common weal4 #h4 ,he is pleased with the conduct of others1 without having any course of action for himself2 and devoid of sorrow1 fear and care1 yet he is seen always to wear a melancholy appearance4 7,a heavily pensive melancholy74 #i4 ,he afflicts nobody1 nor is afflicted by any body2 and though full with his private afflictions and privations1 he is ever pleasant in company4 7,pleased with himself1 he pleases all74 #aj4 ,he is neither delighted with his gain1 nor depressed at his loss1 nor desirous to get any thing2 and though there may be causes1 for his feeling joy as well as sorrow1 yet they are never visible in his face4 #aa4 ,he sympathises with the unhappy1 and congratulates with happy people2 but his collected mind is always invincible1 in every circumstance of life4 #ab4 ,his mind is not inclined to acts1 beside those of righteousness2 as it is the wont of noble-minded men by their nature1 and not any effort on their part4 #ac4 ,he is not fond of pleasantry1 nor is he addicted to dulness either2 he does not hanker after wealth1 but is inappetent and impossible with all his appetites and sensibleness4 #ad4 ,he abides by law and acts accordingly1 whether he is pinched by poverty1 or rolling in riches2 nor is he ever dejected or elated1 at the unforeseen good or bad events of life4 #ae4 ,they are seen to be joyous and sorrowful also at times1 without changing the sedateness and serenity of their nature at any time4 ,they act the part of players on the stage of the earth 7that display many figures in their outward mein74 #af4 ,those that know the truth1 bear no more affection for their mercenary relatives and false friends1 than they look upon the bubbles of water 7that swell and swim1 only to burst in a moment74 #ag4 ,without the affection of the soul1 they bear full affection for others in their hearts2 and the wise man remains quite possessed of himself1 with showing his paternal affection to all4 7,universal benevolence74 #ah4 ,the ignorant are as the winds passing over running streams2 they slightly touch the poisonous pleasures of their bodies1 as the winds touch the rising waves1 and are at last drowned in the depth of their sensuality4 #ai4 ,but the wise man deals outwardly alike with all1 with perfect coolness and stillness of his soul within himself2 he seems outwardly to be engaged in business1 but his inward mind is wholly disengaged from all worldly concerns whatsoever4 #bj4 ,rma rejoined3--,but how can a true sage of such nature1 be distinguished from the many pretended ones and the ignorant also1 who assume such a character falsely only to beguile others4 #ba4 ,many hypocrites rove about as horses1 in the false garb of devotees1 for the assurance of mankind in their devout devotedness to religion4 #bb4 ,vasishtha replied3--,i say ,rma1 that such a nature 7or disposition71 whether it is real or feigned1 is the best and highest perfection of man2 and know that1 the learned in ,vedic lore1 have always this state as the model of perfection in their view4 #bc4 ,those who are dispassionate and unconcerned with acts1 manage still to conduct their secular affairs and actions1 like those that are actuated by their passions2 and though they are averse to derision1 yet they cannot help to deride at the ignorant from their kind heartedness towards them4 #bd4 ,the visibles are all imprest in the mirror of their minds1 as the shades of edifices are reflected in a reflector2 they look upon them with full knowledge of their shadowiness1 as they perceive the fallacy of their laying hold on a lump of gold in dream4 #be4 ,there is a coolness pervading their minds1 which is altogether unknown to others2 just as the sweet fragrance of the sandal wood1 is unperceived by brutes at a distance4 #bf4 ,they that know the knowable1 and are equally pure in their minds1 can only distinguish them from other people1 as a snake only can trace the course of another snake4 #bg4 ,they are the best of men1 that hide their good qualities from others2 for what man is there that will expose his most precious treasure in the market1 along with the raw produce of his land8 7i4e4 ,the hidden virtues of a man1 unlike the aroma of flowers1 aught not to be laid open before the public74 #bh4 ,the reason of concealing the rare virtues1 is to keep them unnoticed by the public2 because the wise who are undesirous of reward or reputation1 have nothing to reap or expect from the public4 #bi4 ,know ,rma1 that solitude1 poverty and disrespect and disregard of men1 are more pleasing to the peaceful sage2 than the most valuable gifts and honors from mankind4 #cj4 ,the ineffable delight which attends on the wise man1 from his conscious knowledge of the knowable2 inexpressible in words1 and invisible to others as to its knower also4 7,the secret joy of divine knowledge and grace1 is felt unseen by the holy sage74 #ca4 ,let men know this qualification of mine1 and honour me for it1 is the wish of the egotist1 and not of that are from their egoistic feelings4 #cb4 ,it is possible even to the ignorant1 to succeed to reap the results of their practices1 such as their rising and moving about in the air 7and upon the surface of water72 by means of mantras1 and the power of certain drugs1 that are adapted to those ends4 #cc4 ,he who can afford to take the pains to any particular end2 succeeds to accomplish the same1 whether he is a clever or ignorant man4 7,success depends on action1 and not on knowledge alone74 #cd4 ,tendencies to good or evil1 are implanted in the bosom of man1 as results of the acts of their past lives2 and these come to display themselves into action at their proper time1 as the sandal wood emits its latent fragrance in its season all around4 #ce4 ,he who is prepossessed with the knowledge of his egoism1 coupled with his desire for enjoyment of the visibles2 he betakes himself to the practice of khechariyoga1 whereby he ascends in the air1 and reaps the reward of his action4 #cf4 ,the wise man that has nothing to desire1 knows such practices to be as false as empty air2 and refrains from displaying his actions1 which he knows at best but cast to the winds4 #cg4 ,he derives no good from his observance of practical yoga1 nor does he lose aught of his holiness by his non-observance of them2 and neither has he any thing to gain from any body1 nor lose a mite at the loss of any thing4 #ch4 ,there is nothing in earth or heaven1 nor among the gods nor any where else3 which may be desirable to the magnanimous1 and to one who has known the supreme soul4 #ci4 ,what is this world to him1 who knows it to be but a heap of dust1 and deems it no better than a straw2 ,what then is that thing in it1 which may be desirable to him8 #dj4 ,the silent sage whose soul is full of knowledge1 and whose mind is quite at rest from its fondness for human society2 remains content in the state as he is1 and quite satisfied with whatever occurs to him4 #da4 ,he is always cool within himself and taciturn in his speech1 and eternal truths form the ground work of his mind2 which is as full and deep as the ocean1 and whose thoughts are as bright as day light4 #db4 ,he is as full of cool composure in himself1 as a gladsome lake reposing with its limpid waters2 and he gladdens also all others about him1 as the fair face of the fullmoon1 cheers the spirits of all around4 #dc4 ,the ,mandara groves of ,paradise1 with their woodlands strewn over with the dust of their blossoms1 do not delight the soul so much1 as the wise sayings of pandits cheer the spirit4 #dd4 ,the disc of the moon diffuses its cooling beams1 and the vernal season scatters its fragrance around2 but the pithy sayings of the wise and great1 scatter their sound wisdom all about1 which serve to ennoble and enrich all mankind4 #de4 ,the substance of their sayings1 proves the erroneous conception of the world to be as false as a magic show2 and inculcates the prudence of wearing out the worldly cares day by day4 #df4 ,the wise saint is as indifferent1 to the suffering of heat and cold in his own person2 as if they are disturbances in the bodies of other men4 7,or that he feels the pain of others as his own74 #dg4 ,in his virtues of compassion and charity1 he resembles the fruitful tree1 which yields its fruits1 flowers1 shed and all to common use1 and subsists itself only upon the water1 it sucks from the ground or receives from heaven4 #dh4 ,it deals out to every body1 whatever it is possest of in its own body2 and it is by virtue of its unsparing munificence to all creatures1 that it lifts its lofty head above them all 7or stretches its roots in air74 #di4 ,one seated in the edifice of knowledge1 has thaught of sorrow for himself2 but pities the sorrows of others1 as a man seated on a rock1 takes pity for the miserable men1 grovelling in the earth below4 #ej4 ,the wise man is tossed about like a flower1 by the rolling waves in the eventful ocean of this world2 and is set at rest1 no sooner he gets over it1 and reaches the beach on the other side 7i4e4 his way to bliss74 #ea4 ,he laughs with the calmness of his soul1 at the same unvaried course of the world and its people2 and smiles to think on the persistence of men1 in their habitual error and folly4 7,the laughing philosopher74 #eb4 ,i am amazed to see these aberrant men1 wandering in the mazes of error2 and fascinated by the false appearances of the phenomenal world1 as if they are spell-bound to the visibles4 #ec4 ,seeing the eight kinds of prosperity to be of no real good1 but rather as causes of evil to mankind1 ,i have learnt to spurn them as straws2 and though ,i am inclined to laugh at them1 yet ,i forbear to do so from my habitual disposition of tolerance and forbearance4 #ed4 ,i see some men abiding in mountain caves1 and others resorting to holy places2 some living at home amidst their families1 and others travelling as pilgrims to distant shrines and countries4 #ee4 ,some roving about as vagrants and mendicants1 and others remaining in their solitary hermitage2 some continuing as silent sages1 and observant of their vow of taciturnity2 and others sitting absorbed in their meditation4 #ef4 ,some are famed for their learning1 and others as students of law and divinity2 some are as princes and others their priests1 while there are some as ignorant as blocks and stones4 #eg4 ,some are adepts in their exorcism of amulets and collyrium1 and others skilled in their sorcery with the sword1 rod and magic wand2 some are practiced in their aerial journey1 and others in other arts and some in nothing as the ignorant pariahs4 #eh4 ,there are many that are employed in their ceremonial observances1 and others that have abandoned their rituals altogether2 some are as fanatics in their conduct1 and others that indulge themselves in their peregrinations and vagrancy4 #ei4 ,the soul 7that you wanted to know71 is not the body nor its senses or powers2 it is neither the mind nor the mental faculties1 nor the feelings and passions of the heart4 ,the soul is the ,intellect which is ever awake1 and never sleeps nor dies4 #fj4 ,it is never broken nor consumed1 nor soiled nor dried up 7by the death or burning of the body72 it is immortal and omnipresent1 ever steady and immovable1 infinite and eternal4 #fa4 ,the man who has his soul1 thus awakened and enlightened in himself2 is never contaminated by anything 7pure or impure71 in whatever state or wherever he may happen to remain4 #fb4 ,whether a man goes down to hell or ascends to heaven1 or traverses through all the regions of air1 or is crushed to death or pounded to dust2 the immortal and undecaying ,intellect which abides in him1 never dies with his body1 nor suffers any change with its change2 but remains quite as quiet as the still air1 which is the increate ,deity itself4 ,,chapter ,,ciii4 ,,proof ,,of ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,deity ,,amidst ,,the ,,variety ,,of ,,creation4 ,argument3--,the ,unity1 ,eternity and tranquility of the ,intellect1 and the preference of this sstra to others4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the ,intellect which is without its beginning and end1 and is the ineffable light and its reflection1 and shines for ever serenely bright1 is never destroyed or extinguished in any wise4 #b4 ,such is the ,intellect and so too the soul1 which is indestructible also2 for it were destroyed at all at any time2 there could neither be the recreation of the world 7without a cause71 nor any regeneration of human souls 7if they were dead upon the death of the former generations of men74 #c4 ,all things are subject to change1 and have many varieties under them2 but not so the ,intellect1 which is ever immutable1 and always perceived to be the same in all individuals4 #d4 ,we all feel the coldness of frost1 the heat of fire1 and sweetness of water2 but we have no feeling of any kind regarding the ,intellect1 except that we know it to be quite clear and pellucid as open air4 7,the gloss explains it to mean1 the unchangeableness of the soul in heat and cold1 which affect the bodies and minds of all74 #e4 ,if the intellectual soul is destroyed at the destruction of the body1 say then why should you lament at its loss1 and not rejoice at its annihilation1 which releases you from the pains of life8 #f4 ,the loss of the body entails no loss on the vacuous intellect2 because the departed souls of mlechchha savages1 are seen to hover over the cemetery by their living friends4 #g4 ,should the soul be synchronous with the duration of the body1 then say1 why a death body does not move about1 while it is yet unrotten and entire4 #h4 ,if the seeing of apparitions1 be an affection con-natural with the mind2 then tell me why a man does not often see the sight of ghosts1 except on the occasion of the demise of his friends4 #i4 ,should it be a misconception connate with the mind1 to see the apparitions of departed friends2 tell me then1 why don't you see the ghosts of friends that are dead in a distant country1 but of such only as die before your eyes4 #aj4 ,hence the ,intellect1 being the soul of all and everywhere1 it is not confined in any place2 but it is known to be of the same nature1 as every one thinks it to be4 #aa4 ,it is unconfined and unrestrained any where1 and is of the nature of one compact consciousness that is felt by all1 and is the cause of our knowledge of all things4 7,it is of what we have a notion only74 #ab4 ,there can be no other1 which may be supposed as the prime cause of all1 at the beginning of creation4 ,should there be any other that is supposed to be as such1 let the doctrinaires now declare it before me4 #ac4 ,there was nothing uncreated before creation1 nor was there anything created in the beginning2 the duality that at present1 presents itself in the form of the universe1 is but a rchauff or reflexion of the unity4 #ad4 ,the phenomenal is no more than a reflexion or copy of the noumenal1 and our impression of its being a visible something1 is as erroneous as all other false sights1 which are mistaken for the true reality4 7,these errors are the sights of silver in sands1 of water in the sandy desert1 and of airy castle in the northern skies74 #ae4 ,it is a wonder of the almighty power1 exhibited in the sphere of the ,divine ,intellect2 it is the wakeful understanding that sees these visibles1 as one sees the sights in his dream1 but never in his ignorance of sound sleep4 #af4 ,the wakefulness and insensibility of the understanding1 both amount to the same thing2 because the difference of the visible world is only verbal and not real2 since nothing that is visible to the eye1 is substantial in its essential nature4 7,hence the perception of the visibles1 is alike to their non-perception of them74 #ag4 ,whatever was thought and said to be visibles by others1 the same was the effect of their error and want of reason2 and now if they are disproved by right season1 where can you find the visibles any more4 #ah4 ,therefore employ your reasoning now1 in the investigation of spiritual knowledge2 because by your diligent and persevering inquiry in this respect1 you will secure to yourself the success in both worlds4 7,so says the sruti3 8,by thy constant study of the subject1 thou shalt see thy god074 #ai4 ,inquiry into spiritual knowledge1 will dispel thy ignorance2 but thou wilt never be successful in it1 without thy constant application to it4 #bj4 ,leaving aside all anxieties and their causes1 and of every jot and moment of time in the observance of one's sacred vows day by day1 and the study of this sacred sstra with due attention1 leads him to his welfare in both worlds4 #ba4 ,whether one is proficient or not in his spiritual knowledge1 he may still improve in it1 by his constant communication of it and discussion on the subject with his superiors4 #bb4 ,whoso requires this precious treasure 7of his knowledge71 he must exert for its attainment at the same ratio to be successful in it2 or else he must leave off altogether1 if he tires in his pursuit4 #bc4 ,he must also keep himself from the perusal of heretical works1 and betake himself to the study of orthodox sstras2 and he will then gain his peace of mind by these1 as one obtains victory in warfare 7so should one fight for the salvation of his soul74 #bd4 ,the course of the mind1 like that of a stream of water1 runs both in the channels of wisdom as well as folly2 and forms a lake wherever it runs more rapidly1 and settles as in its bed4 #be4 ,there was never a better sstra than this1 nor is any such extant at present1 nor is likely to be in vogue in future2 there let the student cogitate well its doctrines1 for the edification of his understanding4 #bf4 ,whoso heeds it well in himself1 will find his mind instantly elevated with superior knowledge2 and like the effect of a curse or blessing1 which comes too late upon its recipient4 7,the efficacy of wisdom is instantaneous74 #bg4 ,the knowledge of his sstra1 is calculated to do you more good1 than you can derive from the tender care of a father or mother2 or the efficacy of your pious actions4 #bh4 ,know ,o holy man1 this world is the prison-house of thy soul1 and its cares as the cholic pain of thy mind2 and there is no release nor redress from these1 beside the knowledge of thy soul 7which is a spark of the supreme74 #bi4 ,it is the dark illusion of gross ignorance1 that hath misled thee to the sense of thy egoism2 and it is now by your reflection on the purport of the sstras only1 that you can be freed from your deplorable state4 #cj4 ,the world is a hollow cave1 where the horrid hydra of illusion lies in ambush2 and feeds on the empty air of vain enjoyments1 that appear at first pleasant to taste1 but prove to be as fleeting as empty air at last4 #ca4 ,pity it is that thy days are flying as fleet as the wind1 and thou art insensible of their advents and exits2 and while thou art employed in thy dealings1 thou art fostering thy death in thy negligence4 #cb4 ,we all live in death1 and our lives are sustained by alternate hopes and fears2 until the few days of our life-time terminate in death4 #cc4 ,the approach of death1 is attained with extreme pain and remorse2 when the inner parts of the body are separated from the outer1 which must be besmeared with dust as with the paste of sandal wood4 #cd4 ,they are grossly ignorant and erroneous1 who purchase their wealth and honour at the expense of their lives2 and avoid to gain their permanent bliss by the precepts of the sstras4 #ce4 ,why should he bear the feet of his vile enemies on his head 7i4e4 bow down his head before the meanly great72 when he can attain his highest station of divine bliss in the sphere of his intellect1 and with little or no pain4 #cf4 ,shun ye men1 your vanity and ignorance2 and to persist in the course of your baseness2 and then you will gain by the knowledge of the great soul1 your redemption from the tribulations of the world 7which is a sea of troubles74 #cg4 ,seeing me in this manner1 preach to you incessantly by day and night1 for the sake of your good only2 do you take my advice to turn your souls to the eternal soul1 by forsaking the knowledge of your persons for that of your souls4 #ch4 ,if you neglect to make a remedy to day1 against the evil of your impending death2 say ,o silly man1 what amends can you make for the hour of death1 when you are laid in your sickbed4 #ci4 ,there is no other work except this1 for the true knowledge of the soul2 and this therefore must be acceptable to you in the same manner1 as the sesame seeds are collected1 for the sake of getting their oil4 #dj4 ,this book will enlighten your spiritual knowledge1 as a lamp lightens a dark room2 drink it deep and it will enliven your soul1 keep it by your side1 and it will please you as a consort4 #da4 ,a man having his knowledge1 but untaught in the sstras1 has many things unintelligible and doubtful to him2 which he will find to be clearly expounded to him in the sweetest language4 #db4 ,this is the best narrative among the principle works1 which are taken in the light of sstras2 it is easily intelligible and delightful1 and has nothing new in it1 except what is well known in spiritual philosophy4 #dc4 ,let a man peruse with delight1 the many narrations that are contained herein2 and he will undoubtedly find this book1 the best of its kind 7on account of elaborate disquisition in this abstruse subject74 #dd4 ,whatever has not yet appeared in full light1 even to ,pandits--learned in all the sstras2 the same will be found to appear in this book1 as they find gold to appear amidst the sand4 #de4 ,the authors of sstras are not to be despised at any time or in any country2 but the reader should employ his reason and judgement1 to dive into the true meaning of the writing4 #df4 ,those who are led by their ignorance or envy1 or actuated by their pride and delusion to disregard and slight this sstra out of their want of judgement2 are to be regarded as killers of their souls1 and unworthy of the company of the wise and good4 #dg4 ,i know you well ,rma and this audience of mine1 as well as your capacities to learn1 and mine to instruct you2 hence it is of my compassion to you that ,i like to teach you these things1 as ,i am naturally communicative and kindly disposed to my hearers4 #dh4 ,i find the development of your understandings1 and therefore take interest to communicate my knowledge to you2 and as ,i am a man and not a ,gandharva or ,rkshasa1 ,i bear a fellow feeling towards you all4 #di4 ,i see you all as intelligent beings1 and pure in your souls also2 it is by virtue of these merits in you that ,i have become so friendly to you4 #ej4 ,now my friends1 learn betimes to glean the truth of your unfondness for or indifference to every thing you see in this world 7because there is nothing which is truly desirable herein74 #ea4 ,whoso neglects to remedy his diseases1 of death and hell fire in this life2 say what will he do to avert them when they are irremediable1 and when he goes to a place1 where no remedy is to be sought4 #eb4 ,until you feel a distaste for everything in this world1 so long you cannot find any abatement of your desires in you4 7,it is better your desires to suppress1 than toil and moil along to seek their redress74 #ec4 ,there is no other means to elevate your soul1 than depressing your desires to the lowest ebb 7but the more you allow your wishes to grow and flow1 the more you bind the soul and sink below74 #ed4 ,if there be anything here1 you think to be good for you2 they serve at best but to bind your soul1 and then disappear as the horn of a hare4 7,all tempting good1 is as fleeting as a dream74 #ee4 ,all earthly goods seem to be good1 when they are untried and least understood2 but the seeming something proves no such thing1 or tends to your ruin at last4 7,all seeming good is positive evil74 #ef4 ,all worldly existences prove to be nil1 by the right reasoning 7of ,vedanta philosophy2 though they are declared as real by ,kapila1 ,kanada and others73 but how they are real and what they are1 whether self-existent or made1 or permanent or temporary1 7cannot rightly be known74 #eg4 ,to say all worldly existences are self-existent1 for having no prior cause assigned to them1 nor being created in the beginning1 would prove all that is existent1 to be the increate and ever lasting supreme being itself4 #eh4 ,there is no causality of sensible bodies1 in the ,being that is without and beyond the senses 7the lord having no organ of sense1 nor being perceptible by the senses as all material objects72 nor is the mind the cause of sensible objects1 7that have the six organs and are perceptible by them72 the mind being but the sixth organ only4 #ei4 ,how can the one unspeakable ,lord1 be the varied cause of these varieties of things1 passing under various denominations4 ,how can the reality have these unrealities in itself1 and how can the ,infinite ,void1 contain these finite solid bodies in it8 #fj4 ,it is the nature of a plastic body to produce a thing of a plasmic from it1 as the seeds of fruits bring forth their own kinds only2 but how is it possible for an amorphous void1 to produce solid forms from its vacuity1 or the solid body to issue forth formless mind4 #fa4 ,how can you expect to derive a solid seed from a void nothing1 and therefore it is a deception to think the material world to be produced1 from the immaterial and formless void of the vacuous intellect4 #fb4 ,there are no conditions1 of the creator and creation in the supreme being2 these states are the fabrications of verbiage1 and bespeak the ignorance of their inventors 7in the true knowledge of the deity74 #fc4 ,the want of co-ordinate causes 7such as the material and formal causes71 as co-existent with the prime and efficient cause2 disproves the existence of an active agent and his act of creation2 and this truth is evident even to boys4 #fd4 ,the knowledge of ,god alone as the sole cause1 and yet acknowledging the causality of the earth and other elements2 is as absurd as to say that1 the sun shines and yet it is dark4 7i4e4 ,as light and darkness cannot reign together1 so the spirit and matter cannot abide simultaneously from all eternity1 which would amount to the belief of a duality74 #fe4 ,to say that the world is the aggregate of atoms1 or an atomic formation1 is as absurd as to call a bow made of the horn of a hare4 7,this is a refutation of the ,buddhistic doctrine of the formation of the visible world1 from the aggregation of eternal invisible atoms74 #ff4 ,if the concourse and collocation of the dull1 inert and insensible material atoms would form the world2 it would of its own accord make a mountainous heap here1 and a bottomless deep there in the air 7and not a work of such design which must be the product of infinite ,intelligence74 #fg4 ,again the particles of this earth1 and the atoms of air and water1 are flying every day in the forms of dust and humidity from house to house and from place to place1 and why do they not yet form a new hill or lake any where again8 7,why no new world again74 #fh4 ,the invisible atoms are never to be seen1 nor is it known whence1 or where and how they are2 nor is it possible to form an idea of the formless atoms1 to unite together and form a solid mass4 7,shapeless simples are indivisible and incohesive4 ,aphorism74 ,and again it is impossible for the dull and insensible atoms to form any thing4 #fi4 ,the creation of the world1 is never the work of an unintelligent cause2 nor is this frail and unreal world ever the work of an intelligent maker also2 because none but a fool makes any for nothing4 #gj4 ,the insensible air which is composed of atoms1 and has a motion of its own1 is never actuated by reason or sense2 nor is it possible to expect the particles of air to act wisely 7as they prayed in their hymns to the maruta winds74 #ga4 7,what then are these if not composed of atoms87 ,we are all composed of intellectual soul1 and all individuals are made of the vacuous selves2 and they all appear to us1 as the figures of persons appearing in our dream4 #gb4 ,therefore there is nothing that is created1 nor is this world in existence2 the whole is the clear void of the intellect1 and shines with the glare of the ,supreme soul in itself4 #gc4 ,the vacuous universe rests completely in the vacuum of the ,intellect1 as force 7or vibration71 fluidity and vacuity1 rest respectively in the wind1 water and in the open air4 #gd4 ,the form of the intellectual vacuum1 is as that of the airy mind1 which passes to distant climes in a moment 7and yet holds its seat in the hollowness of the brain72 or as that of consciousness which is seated in the hollow of the heart1 and is yet conscious of every thing in itself4 #ge4 ,such is the vacuous nature of all things1 as they are perceived in their intellectual forms only in intellect 7which retains their vacuous ideas only on the hollow understanding72 and so the world also is an empty idea only imprinted in the intellect4 #gf4 ,it is the rotatory nature of the ,intellect1 which exhibits the picture of the universe on its surface2 wherefore the world is identic and not otherwise than the vacuous nature of the intellect4 #gg4 ,therefore the world is the counter part of the intellectual sphere1 and there is no difference in the vacuous nature1 of either of them4 ,they are both the same thing presenting but two aspects1 as the wind and its undulations are one and the same thing4 #gh4 ,as a wise man going from one country to another1 finds himself to be the same person wherever he goes2 and though he sees all the varieties around him1 yet he knows himself as the selfsame quiet and unvaried soul every where4 #gi4 ,the wise man remains in the true nature of the elements1 hence the elements never go off from the mind of the wise man4 #hj4 ,the world is a vacuous sphere of reflections only1 resembling a concave reflector2 it is a formless void in its nature1 and is unimpaired and indestructible in its essence4 #ha4 ,there is nothing that is born or dies in it1 nor any thing which having once come to being1 is annihilated ever afterwards any where2 it is not apart from the vacuum of the ,intellect1 and is as void as the inane world itself4 #hb4 ,the world never is1 nor was1 nor shall ever be in existence2 it is but a silent semblance of the representation passing in the intellectual vacuity of the supreme spirit4 #hc4 ,the ,divine ,intellect alone shines forth in its glory1 as the mind exhibits its images of cities c4 in dream2 in the like manner our minds represent to us the image of world1 as day dreams in our waking state4 #hd4 ,there being no being in the beginning1 how could there be the body of anything in existence2 there was therefore no corporeality whatever except in the dream of the ,divine mind4 #he4 ,the supreme ,intellect dreams of its self-born 7or uncreated7 body at first2 and we that have sprang from that body1 have ever afterwards continued to see dream after dream to no end4 7,the world is a dream both in the mind of ,god and men74 #hf4 ,it is impossible for us with all our efforts1 to turn our minds to the great ,god2 because they are not of the nature of the divine intellect1 but born in us like carbuncles on the goitre1 for our destruction only4 #hg4 ,the god ,brahm is no real personage1 but a fictitious name for ,hiranyagarbha or totality of souls 771 but ever since he is regarded as a personal being1 the world is considered as body and ,he the soul of all4 #hh4 ,but in truth all is unreal1 from the highest empyrean to the lowest pit2 and the world is as false and frail as a dream1 which rises in vain before the mind1 and vanishes in a minute4 #hi4 ,the world rises in the vacuity of the ,intellect1 and sets therein as a dream2 and when it does not rise in the enlightened intellect1 it is as a disappearing from the waking mind1 and flying before day light4 #ij4 ,although the world is known as false1 yet it is perceived and appears as true to us2 in the same manner as the false appearances in our dream1 appear true to our consciousness at the time of dreaming4 #ia4 ,as the formless dream presents many forms before the mind2 so the formless world assumes many shapes before our sight3 and all these are perceived in our consciousness1 which is as minute in respect of the infinite space and sky1 as an atom of dust is too small in regard to the ,meru mountain4 7i4e4 the minim of our consciousness1 contained in the breast1 is an imperceptible particle only of sand in it74 #ib4 ,but how can this consciousness1 which is but another name of ,brahma1 be any what smaller than the sky 7when it contains the skies in itself72 and how can the vacuous world have any solid form1 when it has no formal cause to form it so4 7,god being a formless being1 could not give a form and figure to any thing1 and which is therefore ideal only74 #ic4 ,where was there any matter or mould1 where from this material world was moulded and formed 7as we make our houses from the pre-existing mud and clay of the earth72 whatever we see in the sphere of waking minds in the day light1 is similar to the baseless dreams1 which we see in the empty space of our sleeping minds1 in the darkness of the night4 #id4 ,there is no difference between the waking and sleeping dreams1 as there is none between the empty air and the sky2 whatever is pictured in the sphere of the intellect1 the same is represented as the aerial castle in the dream4 #ie4 ,as the wind is the same with its undulation1 so the rest and vibration of the spirit is both alike1 as the air and vacuum is the one and same thing4 #if4 ,hence it is the intellectual sphere only1 which represents the picture of the world2 the whole is a void and without any support1 and splendour of the luminary of the intellect4 #ig4 ,the whole universe is in a state of perfect rest and tranquility1 and without its rising or setting2 it is as a quiet and unwasting block of stone1 and ever shining serenely bright4 #ih4 ,say therefore whence and what are these existent beings1 and how comes this understanding of their existence2 where is there a duality or unity1 and how came these notions of egoism and distinct personalities4 #ii4 ,be ever prompt in your actions and dealings1 with an utter indifference to everything1 and unconcern about unity or duality2 and preserve an even and cool disposition of your inward mind4 ,remain in the state of nirvna1 with your extinguished passions and feelings1 and free from disease and anxiety4 ,be aloof from the visibles1 and remain in the manner of a pure ,intelligence only4 #ajj4 ,this chapter is a lecture on entity and non-entity2 and establishment of the spirituality of the universe4 ,,chapter ,,civ4 ,,establishment ,,of ,,the ,,non-,,entity ,,of ,,the ,,world4 ,argument3--,the ,notion of the ,intellect1 analogous to that of the wind and ,air4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the sky is the receptacle of sound1 and the air is perceptible to the feeling2 their friction produces the heat1 and the subsidence or removal of heat1 causes the cold and its medium of water4#d #b4 ,the earth is the union of these1 and in this way do they combine to form the world1 appearing as a dream unto us1 or else how is it possible for a solid body1 to issue forth from the formless vacuum4 #c4 ,if this progression of productions1 would lead us too far beyond our comprehension2 but it being so in the beginning1 it brings no blemish in the pure nature of the vacuous spirit1 7for its gradual productions of air1 heat1 water c474 #d4 ,divine ,intelligence also is a pure entity1 which is manifest in the selfsame spirit2 the same is said to be the world1 and this most certain truth of truths4 7,because ,omniscience includes in it the knowledge of all things2 which is the true meaning of the text ,sanskrit3 sarvam khalvidam brahma all this verily ,brahma or full of the intelligence of ,god74 #e4 ,there are no material things1 nor the five elements of matter any where2 all these are mere unrealities1 and yet they are perceived by us1 like the false appearance in our dream4 #f4 ,as a city and its various sights1 appear very clear to the mind in our sleeping dreams2 so it is very pleasant to see the dream like world1 shining so brightly before our sight in our waking hours4 #g4 ,i am of the nature of my vacuous intellect1 and so is this world of the same nature also2 and thus ,i find myself and this world1 to be of the same nature1 as a dull and insensible stone4 #h4 ,hence the world appears as a shining jewel1 both at its first creation1 as well as in all its kalpnta or subsequent formations 7because it shines always with the effulgence of the ,divine ,intellect74 #i4 ,whether the body be something or nothing in its essence1 its want of pain and happiness of the mind1 is the form of its state of moksha or liberation2 and its rest with a peaceful mind and pure nature1 is reckoned its highest state of bliss4 ,,chapter ,,cv4 ,,likeness ,,of ,,waking ,,and ,,sleeping ,,dreams4 ,argument3--,the ,identity of the ,intellect by day and night1 proves the sameness of its day and night dreams4 ,vasishtha continued3--,the ,intellect conceives the form of the world1 of its own intrinsic nature2 and fancies itself in that very form1 as it were in a dream4 7,the subjective ,intellect1 sees itself in the form of the objective world74 #b4 ,it feigns itself as asleep while it is waking1 and views the world either as a solid stone1 or as a void as the empty air4 #c4 ,the world is compared to a dream1 exhibiting a country embellished with a great many cities2 and as is no reality in the objects of dream1 so there is no actuality in any thing appearing in this world4 #d4 ,all the three worlds are as unreal1 as the various sights in a dream2 and they are but day dreams to us even when we are awake4 7,the ,intelligent dream by day light1 as the ignorant do in the shade of night74 #e4 ,whether in waking or sleeping1 there is nothing named as the world 7or the turning sphere72 it is but the empty void1 and at best but an air-drawn picture in the hollow of the ,intellects4 #f4 ,it is a wondrous display of the ,intellect in its own hollowness1 like the array of hills and mountains in the midway firmament2 the sense of the world is as a waking dream in the minds of the wise4 #g4 ,this world is nothing in its substance1 nor is it any thing of the form of ,intellect2 it is but a reflexion of the ,intellect1 and the vacuity of the intellectual world1 is but an empty nothing4 #h4 ,the triple world is only a reflexion1 and like the sight of something in dream1 it is but an airy nothing2 it is the empty air which becomes thus 7diversified71 and is entirely bodiless1 though seeming to be embodied in our waking state4 #i4 ,it is inventive imagination of men1 that is ever busy even in the hours of sleep and dreaming2 and presents to us with many creations that were never created1 and many unrealities appearing as real ones4 #aj4 ,the universe appears as an extensive substantiality1 implanted in the bosom of endless vacuity2 but this huge body1 with all its mountains and cities1 is in reality no other than the original vacuum4 #aa4 ,the howling of the sea1 and clattering of clouds on mountains1 though they are so very tremendous to the waking2 are yet unheard by the sound sleeper by his side4 7,so the pomp of the world1 is unseen by the blind74 #ab4 ,as a widow dreams her bringing forth a son in her sleep1 and as a man thinks to be ever living1 by forgetfulness of his past death1 and being reborn again2 so are men unmindful of their real state4 #ac4 ,the real is taken for the unreal and unreal for the real2 as the sleeping man forgets his bed room1 and thinks himself else where2 so every thing turns to be otherwise1 as the day turns to night and the night changes to day4 #ad4 ,the unreal soon succeeds the real1 as night--the want of light succeeds the light of the day2 and the impossible also becomes possible1 as when a living person sees his death1 or thinks himself as dead in his sleep4 #ae4 ,the impossible becomes possible1 as the supposition of the world in the empty void2 and the darkness appears as light1 as the night time seems to be daylight to the sleeping and dreaming man at night4 #af4 ,the daylight becomes the darkness of night1 to one who sleeps and dreams in the daytime 7as it is to owls and bats and so to cats and rats72 the solid ground seems to be hollow1 to one who dreams of his being cast into a pit4 #ag4 ,as the world appears to be a nullity in our sleep at night1 and so it is reality even in our waking state1 and there is no doubt of it4 7,it is doubtful that the world exists1 but no doubt in its inexistence74 #ah4 ,as the two suns 7of yesterday and today71 are the one and same with one another1 and as two men are of the same kind2 so it is doubtless that the waking and sleeping states are alike to another4 #ai4 ,rma rejoined3--,that of course cannot be admissible and reliable as true1 which is liable to objection and exception2 the sight of a dream is but momentary and falsified upon our waking2 wherefore it cannot be alike to the waking state4 #bj4 ,vasishtha replied3--,the disappearance of the dreamed objects upon waking1 does not prove their falsity1 nor make any difference between the two states of dreaming and waking2 because the objects which one sees in his dream1 are like those that a traveller sees in foreign country1 which are lost upon his return to his own country1 and the sights of this are soon lost upon his death4 ,hence both are true for the time being1 and both proved equally false and fleeting at last4 #ba4 ,a man being dead1 he is separated from his friends1 as from those he sees in his dream2 and then the living is said to be awakened1 as when a sleeper awakes from his slumber4 #bb4 ,after seeing the delusions of the states of happiness and misery1 and witnessing the rotations of days and nights1 and feeling many changes1 the living soul at last departs from this world of dreams4 #bc4 ,after the long sleep of life1 there comes at last an end of it at last2 when the human soul becomes assured of the untruth of this world1 and that the past was a mere dream4 #bd4 ,as the dreamer perceives his death in the land of his dream1 so the waking man sees his waking dream of this world1 where he meets with his death1 in order to be reborn in it and to dream again4 #be4 ,the waking beholder of the world1 finds himself to die in the same manner in his living world2 where he is doomed to be reborn1 in order to see the same scenes and to die again4 #bf4 ,he who finds himself to die in the living world in his waking state1 comes to revisit this earth1 in order to see the same dreams1 which he believed to be true in his former births4 7,hence the sleeping and waking dreams1 that view the same things over again1 are both alike74 #bg4 ,it is the ignorant only1 that believe their waking sights as true2 while it is the firm conviction of the intelligent1 that all these appearances are but day dreams at best4 #bh4 ,taking the dreaming state for waking1 and the waking one for dreaming1 are but verbal distinctions implying the same thing2 as life and death are meaningless words for the two states of the soul1 which never born nor died4 #bi4 ,he who views his life and death in the light of a dream1 is said to be truly waking2 but the living soul that considers itself as waking and dying1 is quite the contrary of it4 #cj4 ,whoso dwells upon one dream after another1 or wakes to see a waking dream2 is as one who wakes after his death1 and finds his waking also to be a dream4 7,all states of sleeping and waking1 and of living and dying are mere dreams74 #ca4 ,our waking and sleeping1 are both as events of history to us2 and are comparable to the past and present histories of nations4 7,both being equally fleeting and fluctuating74 #cb4 ,the dream-sleep seems as waking1 and the waking dream is no other than sleeping2 they are both in fact but unrealities1 and the mere rchauff or reflexions of the intellectual sky4 #cc4 ,we find the moving and unmoving beings on earth1 and creatures unnumbered all around us2 but what do they all prove to be at last1 than the representations of the eternal ideas in the ,divine ,intellect4 #cd4 ,as we can have no idea of a pot1 without that of the clay which it is made of2 so we can have no conception of the blocks of mould and stone1 unless they were represented to our minds1 from their prints in ,divine ,intellect4 #ce4 ,all these various things1 which appear unto us both in our waking as well as dreaming states2 are no other than the ideas of blocks1 which are represented in our dreams from their archetypes in the ,intellect4 #cf4 ,now say ,o ,intelligent ,rma1 what else must this ,intellect be1 than that infinite and vacuous essence which acts in us1 both in our dreaming and waking states4 #cg4 ,know this ,intellect to be the great ,brahm1 who is everything in the world1 as if it were in the divided forms of his essence2 and who is yet of the figure of the whole world1 as if he were the undivided whole himself4 7i4e4 ,he is all and everything collectively and individually74 #ch4 ,as the earthen pot is not conceivable1 without its formal substance of the earth2 so the intellectual ,brahm is inconceivable1 without his essence of the ,intellect4 #ci4 ,again as a stone-made jar is beyond our conception1 save by the idea of its stony substance2 so the spiritual ,god is beyond our comprehension1 besides our idea of the spirit4 #dj4 ,as the water is a liquid substance1 which cannot be conceived without its fluidity2 so is ,brahm conceived as composed of his chit or ,intellect only1 without which we can have no conception of him4 #da4 ,so also we have the conception of fire by means of its heat1 without which we have no concept of it2 such too is our idea of ,god that he is the ,intellect1 and beside this we can form no idea of him4 #db4 ,we know the wind by its oscillation only1 and by no other means whatsoever2 so is ,god thought as the ,intellect or ,intelligence itself2 beside which we can have no notion of him4 #dc4 ,there is nothing1 that can be conceived without its property2 as we can never conceive vacuum to be without its vacuity1 nor have any conception of the earth without its solidity4 #dd4 ,all things are composed of the vacuous ,intellect1 as the pot or painting appearing in the mind1 is composed of the essence of the intellect only2 and so the hills c41 appearing in dream1 are representation of the ,intellect alone4 7,all the material world is composed of matter1 so is the intellectual world made of intellect only74 #de4 ,as we are conscious of the aerial sights of the hills and towns1 presented to our minds in the dream2 so we know all things in our conscious in our waking state also2 so there is a quiet calm vacuity only both in our sleep and waking1 wherein our intellect alone is ever busy to show itself in endless shapes before us4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,note4--,the logical term pratiyogi vyava-cheda is explained as pratiyogi nirpaka vyvrithi1 which means that egoism being an abstract term1 does not point out any particular person or thing1 and the ego being a discrete word conveys no sense of a concrete noun4 ,moreover it is indeterminate and signifies no determinate number1 nor is it predicated by any of the predicables which is not applicable to it4 ,footnote #b3 ,note4--,these are named as the spheres of ahamkra or egoism1 mahatattwa or the great principle1 and the ananta-prakriti or the hyperphysical ,infinity2 in the saiva and snkhya sstras4 ,footnote #c3 7,note4--,full many a gem of brightest ray serene1 the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear4 ,gray47 ,footnote #d3 ,note4--,the sky or vacuum is the taumatra or identic with the sound or word2 and the void and its sound are both uncreated and eternal4 7sabdho ajonitth 74 ,so it said3--,in the beginning was the word 7sound71 the word was with god 7vacuity71 and the word was god 7atm71 the spirit or air4