Santhi Parva

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 02 Apr 2010 07:58 and updated at 02 Apr 2010 07:58

MAHABHARATA, BOOK 12: SANTI PARVA

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Section 235

CCXXXVI Vyasa said, If Emancipation be desirable, then knowledge should be acquired. For a person who is borne now up and now down along the stream of Time or life, knowledge is the raft by which he can reach the shore. Those wise men who have arrived at certain conclusions regarding the character of the soul and that which is called life by the aid of wisdom, are able to assist the ignorant in crossing the stream of time or life with the raft of knowledge. They, however, that are ignorant, are unable save either themselves or others. He who has freed himself from desire and all other faults, and who has emancipated himself from all attachments, should attend to, these two and ten requirements of yoga, viz, place, acts, affection, objects, means, destruction, certainty, eyes, food, suppression, mind and survey He who wishes to obtain superior Knowledge, should, by the aid of his understanding, restrain both speech and mind. He who wishes to have tranquillity, should, by the aid of his knowledge, restrain his soul. Whether he becomes compassionate or cruel, whether he becomes conversant with all the Vedas or ignorant of the Richs, whether he becomes righteous and observant of sacrifices or the worst of sinners, whether he becomes eminent for prowess and wealth or plunged into misery, that person who directs his mind towards these attributes that I have spoken of, is sure to cross the ocean of life which is so difficult to cross.

Without speaking of the results of the attainment of Brahma by yoga, it may be said that he who sets himself to only enquiring after the Soul transcends the necessity of observing the acts laid down in the Vedas. The body with jiva within it is an excellent car. When sacrifices and religious rites are made its upastha, shame its varutha, Upaya and Apaya its kuvara, the breath called Apana its aksha, the breath called Prana its yuga, knowledge and the allotted period of existence its points for tying the steeds, heedfulness its handsome vandhura, the assumption of good behaviour its nemi, vision, touch, scent, and hearing its four steeds, wisdom its nabhi, all the scriptures its pratoda, certain knowledge of the scriptural declarations its driver, the soul its firmly-seated rider, faith and self-restraint its fore-runners, renunciation its inseparable companion following behind and bent upon doing it good, purity the path along which it goes, meditation or union with Brahma its goal, then may that car reach Brahma and shine there in effulgence I shall now tell thee the speedy means that should be adopted by the person who would equip his car in such a fashion for passing through this wilderness of the world in order to reach the goal constituted by Brahma that is above decrepitude and destruction. To set the mind upon one thing at a time is called Dharana The Yogin observing proper vows and restraints, practises in all seven kinds of Dharana. There are, again, as many kinds of Dharanas arising out of these, upon subjects that are near or remote Through these the Yogin gradually acquires mastery over Earth, Wind, Space, Water, Fire, Consciousness, and Understanding. After this he gradually acquires mastery over the Unmanifest I shall now describe to thee the conceptions in their order that are realised by particular individuals amongst those that are engaged in yoga according to the rules and ordinances that have been laid down.

I shall tell thee also of the nature of the success that attaches to yoga commenced according to rules by him who looks within his own self The Yogin, that abandons his gross body, following the instructions of his preceptor, beholds his soul displaying the following forms in consequence of its subtility. To him in the first stage, the welkin seems to be filled with a subtile substance like foggy vapour Of the Soul which has been freed from the body, even such becomes the form. When this fog disappears, a second or new form becomes visible. For, then, the Yogin beholds within himself, in the firmament of his heart, the form of Water. After the disappearance of water, the form of Fire displays itself. When this disappears, the form that becomes perceivable is that of Wind as effulgent as a well-tempered weapon of high polish. Gradually, the form displayed by Wind becomes like that of the thinnest gossamer. Then having acquired whiteness, and also, the subtlety of air, the Brahman's soul is said to attain the supreme whiteness and subtlety of Ether.

Listen to me as I tell thee the consequences of these diverse conditions when they occur. That Yogin who has been able to achieve the conquest of the earth-element, attains by such lordship to the power of Creation. Like a second Prajapati endued with a nature that is perfectly imperturbable, he can from his own body create all kinds of creatures. With only his toe, or with his hand or feet, that person can singly cause the whole Earth to tremble who has achieved the lordship of the Wind. Even this is the attribute of the Wind as declared in the Sruti. The Yogin, who has achieved the lordship of Space, can exist brightly in Space in consequence of his having attained to uniformity with that element, and can also disappear at will. By lordship over Water, one can like Agastya drink up rivers, lakes, and oceans. By lordship over Fire, the Yogin becomes so effulgent that his form cannot be looked at. He becomes visible only when he extinguishes his consciousness of individuality, these five elements come within his sway. When the Understanding, which is the soul of the five elements and of the consciousness of individuality is conquered the Yogin attains to Omnipotence, and perfect Knowledge or perception freed from doubt and uncertainty with respect to all things, comes to him.

In consequence of this, the Manifest becomes merged into the Unmanifest or Supreme Soul from which the world emanates and becomes what is called Manifest Listen now to me in detail as I expound the science of the Unmanifest. But first of all listen to me about all that is Manifest as expounded in the Sankhya system of philosophy. In both the Yoga and the Sankhya, systems, five and twenty topics of knowledge have been treated in nearly the same way. Listen to me as I mention their chief features. That has been said to be Manifest which is possessed of these four attributes, viz, birth, growth, decay, and death. That which is not possessed of these attributes is said to be Unmanifest. Two souls are mentioned in the Vedas and the sciences that are based upon them. The first which is called Jivatman is endued with the four attributes already mentioned, and has a longing for the four objects or purposes viz, Religion, Wealth, Pleasure and Emancipation. This soul is called Manifest, and it is born of the Unmanifest Supreme Soul.

It is both Intelligent and non-Intelligent. I have thus told thee about Sattwa inert matter and Kshetrajna immaterial spirit. Both kinds of Soul, it is said in the Vedas, become attached to objects of the senses. The doctrine of the Sankhyas is that one should keep oneself aloof or dissociated from objects of the senses. That Yogin who is freed from attachment and pride, who transcends all pairs of opposites, such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc, who never gives way to wrath or hate, who never speaks an untruth, who, though slandered or struck, still shows friendship for the slanderer or the striker, who never thinks of doing ill to others, who restrains the three, viz, speech, acts, and mind, and who behaves uniformly towards all creatures, succeeds in approaching the presence of Brahman. That person who cherishes no desire for earthly objects, who is not unwilling to take what comes, who is dependent on earthly objects to only that extent which is necessary for sustaining life, who is free from cupidity, who has driven off all grief, who has restrained his senses, who goes through all necessary acts, who is regardless of personal appearance and attire, whose senses are all collected for devotion to the true objects of life, whose purposes are never left, unaccomplished who bears himself with equal friendliness towards all creatures, who regards a clod of earth and a lump of gold with an equal eye, who is equally disposed towards friend and foe, who is possessed of patience, who takes praise and blame equally who is free from longing with respect to all objects of desire, who practises Brahmacharya, and who is firm and steady in all his vows and observances, who has no malice or envy for any creature in the universe, is a Yogin who according to the Sankhya system succeeds in winning Emancipation. Listen now to the way and the means by which a person may win Emancipation through Yoga or the system of Patanjali. That person who moves and acts after having transcended the puissance that the practice of Yoga brings about in the initial stages, succeeds in winning Emancipation I have thus discoursed to thee on those topics viz, Emancipation according to the Sankhya system and that according to the Yoga system which are dissimilar if the speaker be disposed to treat them as such but which in reality, are one and the same

Thus can one transcend all pairs of opposites. Thus can one attain to Brahma

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