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1. I bow to Govinda, whose nature is Bliss
Supreme, who is the Sadguru, who can be known only from the import of
all Vedanta, and who is beyond the reach of speech and mind.
2. For all beings a human birth is
difficult to obtain, more so is a male body; rarer than that is
Brahmanahood; rarer still is the attachment to the path of Vedic
religion; higher than this is erudition in the scriptures;
discrimination between the Self and not-Self, Realisation, and
continuing in a state of identity with Brahman – these come next in
order. (This kind of) Mukti (Liberation) is not to be attained except
through the well-earned merits of a hundred crore of births.
3. These are three things which are
rare indeed and are due to the grace of God – namely, a human birth, the
longing for Liberation, and the protecting care of a perfected sage.
4. The man who, having by some means
obtained a human birth, with a male body and mastery of the Vedas to
boot, is foolish enough not to exert himself for self-liberation, verily
commits suicide, for he kills himself by clinging to things unreal.
5. What greater fool is there than the
man who having obtained a rare human body, and a masculine body too,
neglects to achieve the real end of this life ?
6. Let people quote the Scriptures and
sacrifice to the gods, let them perform rituals and worship the deities,
but there is no Liberation without the realisation of one’s identity
with the Atman, no, not even in the lifetime of a hundred Brahmas put
together.
7. There is no hope of immortality by
means of riches – such indeed is the declaration of the Vedas. Hence it
is clear that works cannot be the cause of Liberation.
8. Therefore the man of learning should
strive his best for Liberation, having renounced his desire for
pleasures from external objects, duly approaching a good and generous
preceptor, and fixing his mind on the truth inculcated by him.
9. Having attained the Yogarudha state,
one should recover oneself, immersed in the sea of birth and death by
means of devotion to right discrimination.
10. Let the wise and erudite man,
having commenced the practice of the realisation of the Atman give up
all works and try to cut loose the bonds of birth and death.
11. Work leads to purification of the
mind, not to perception of the Reality. The realisation of Truth is
brought about by discrimination and not in the least by ten million of
acts.
12. By adequate reasoning the
conviction of the reality about the rope is gained, which puts an end to
the great fear and misery caused by the snake worked up in the deluded
mind.
13. The conviction of the Truth is seen
to proceed from reasoning upon the salutary counsel of the wise, and not
by bathing in the sacred waters, nor by gifts, nor by a hundred
Pranayamas (control of the vital force).
14. Success depends essentially on a
qualified aspirant; time, place and other such means are but auxiliaries
in this regard.
15. Hence the seeker after the Reality
of the Atman should take to reasoning, after duly approaching the Guru –
who should be the best of the knowers of Brahman, and an ocean of mercy.
16. An intelligent and learned man
skilled in arguing in favour of the Scriptures and in refuting
counter-arguments against them – one who has got the above
characteristics is the fit recipient of the knowledge of the Atman.
17. The man who discriminates between
the Real and the unreal, whose mind is turned away from the unreal, who
possesses calmness and the allied virtues, and who is longing for
Liberation, is alone considered qualified to enquire after Brahman.
18. Regarding this, sages have spoken
of four means of attainment, which alone being present, the devotion to
Brahman succeeds, and in the absence of which, it fails.
19. First is enumerated discrimination
between the Real and the unreal; next comes aversion to the enjoyment of
fruits (of one’s actions) here and hereafter; (next is) the group of six
attributes, viz. calmness and the rest; and (last) is clearly the
yearning for Liberation.
20. A firm conviction of the mind to
the effect that Brahman is real and the universe unreal, is designated
as discrimination (Viveka) between the Real and the unreal.
21. Vairagya or renunciation is the
desire to give up all transitory enjoyments (ranging) from those of an
(animate) body to those of Brahmahood (having already known their
defects) from observation, instruction and so forth.
22. The resting of the mind steadfastly
on its Goal (viz. Brahman) after having detached itself from manifold
sense-objects by continually observing their defects, is called Shama or
calmness.
23. Turning both kinds of sense-organs
away from sense-objects and placing them in their respective centres, is
called Dama or self-control. The best Uparati or self-withdrawal
consists in the mind-function ceasing to be affected by external
objects.
24. The bearing of all afflictions
without caring to redress them, being free (at the same time) from
anxiety or lament on their score, is called Titiksha or forbearance.
25. Acceptance by firm judgment as true
of what the Scriptures and the Guru instruct, is called by sages
Shraddha or faith, by means of which the Reality is perceived.
26. Not the mere indulgence of thought
(in curiosity) but the constant concentration of the intellect (or the
affirming faculty) on the ever-pure Brahman, is what is called Samadhana
or self-settledness.
27. Mumukshuta or yearning for Freedom
is the desire to free oneself, by realising one’s true nature, from all
bondages from that of egoism to that of the body – bondages superimposed
by Ignorance.
28. Even though torpid or mediocre,
this yearning for Freedom, through the grace of the Guru, may bear fruit
(being developed) by means of Vairagya (renunciation), Shama (calmness),
and so on.
29. In his case, verily, whose
renunciation and yearning for Freedom are intense, calmness and the
other practices have (really) their meaning and bear fruit.
30. Where (however) this renunciation
and yearning for Freedom are torpid, there calmness and the other
practices are as mere appearances, like water in a desert.
31. Among things conducive to
Liberation, devotion (Bhakti) holds the supreme place. The seeking after
one’s real nature is designated as devotion.
32. Others maintain that the inquiry
into the truth of one’s own self is devotion. The inquirer about the
truth of the Atman who is possessed of the above-mentioned means of
attainment should approach a wise preceptor, who confers emancipation
from bondage.
33. Who is versed in the Vedas,
sinless, unsmitten by desire and a knower of Brahman par excellence, who
has withdrawn himself into Brahman; who is calm, like fire that has
consumed its fuel, who is a boundless reservoir of mercy that knows no
reason, and a friend of all good people who prostrate themselves before
him.
34. Worshipping that Guru with
devotion, and approaching him, when he is pleased with prostration,
humility and service, (he) should ask him what he has got to know:
35. O Master, O friend of those that
bow to thee, thou ocean of mercy, I bow to thee; save me, fallen as I am
into this sea of birth and death, with a straightforward glance of thine
eye, which sheds nectar-like grace supreme.
36. Save me from death, afflicted as I
am by the unquenchable fire of this world-forest, and shaken violently
by the winds of an untoward lot, terrified and (so) seeking refuge in
thee, for I do not know of any other man with whom to seek shelter.
37. There are good souls, calm and
magnanimous, who do good to others as does the spring, and who, having
themselves crossed this dreadful ocean of birth and death, help others
also to cross the same, without any motive whatsoever.
38. It is the very nature of the
magnanimous to move of their own accord towards removing others’
troubles. Here, for instance, is the moon who, as everybody knows,
voluntarily saves the earth parched by the flaming rays of the sun.
39. O Lord, with thy nectar-like
speech, sweetened by the enjoyment of the elixir-like bliss of Brahman,
pure, cooling to a degree, issuing in streams from thy lips as from a
pitcher, and delightful to the ear – do thou sprinkle me who am
tormented by worldly afflictions as by the tongues of a forest-fire.
Blessed are those on whom even a passing glance of thy eye lights,
accepting them as thine own.
40. How to cross this ocean of
phenomenal existence, what is to be my fate, and which of the means
should I adopt – as to these I know nothing. Condescend to save me, O
Lord, and describe at length how to put an end to the misery of this
relative existence.
41. As he speaks thus, tormented by the
afflictions of the world – which is like a forest on fire – and seeking
his protection, the saint eyes him with a glance softened with pity and
spontaneously bids him give up all fear.
42. To him who has sought his
protection, thirsting for Liberation, who duly obeys the injunctions of
the Scriptures, who is of a serene mind, and endowed with calmness – (to
such a one) the sage proceeds to inculcate the truth out of sheer grace.
43. Fear not, O learned one, there is
no death for thee; there is a means of crossing this sea of relative
existence; that very way by which sages have gone beyond it, I shall
inculcate to thee.
44. There is a sovereign means which
puts an end to the fear of relative existence; through that thou wilt
cross the sea of Samsara and attain the supreme bliss.
45. Reasoning on the meaning of the
Vedanta leads to efficient knowledge, which is immediately followed by
the total annihilation of the misery born of relative existence.
46. Faith (Shraddha), devotion and the
Yoga of meditation – these are mentioned by the Shruti as the immediate
factors of Liberation in the case of a seeker; whoever abides in these
gets Liberation from the bondage of the body, which is the conjuring of
Ignorance.
47. It is verily through the touch of
Ignorance that thou who art the Supreme Self findest thyself under the
bondage of the non-Self, whence alone proceeds the round of births and
deaths. The fire of knowledge, kindled by the discrimination between
these two, burns up the effects of Ignorance together with their root.
48. Condescend to listen, O Master, to
the question I am putting (to thee). I shall be gratified to hear a
reply to the same from thy lips.
49. What is bondage, forsooth ? How has
it come (upon the Self) ? How does it continue to exist ? How is one
freed from it ? What is this non-Self ? And who is the Supreme Self ?
And how can one discriminate between them ? -- Do tell me about all
these.
50. The Guru replied: Blessed art thou
! Thou hast achieved thy life’s end and hast sanctified thy family, that
thou wishest to attain Brahmanhood by getting free from the bondage of
Ignorance !
51. A father has got his sons and
others to free him from his debts, but he has got none but himself to
remove his bondage.
52. Trouble such as that caused by a
load on the head can be removed by others, but none but one’s own self
can put a stop to the pain which is caused by hunger and the like.
53. The patient who takes (the proper)
diet and medicine is alone seen to recover completely – not through work
done by others.
54. The true nature of things is to be
known personally, through the eye of clear illumination, and not through
a sage: what the moon exactly is, is to be known with one’s own eyes;
can others make him know it ?
55. Who but one’s own self can get rid
of the bondage caused by the fetters of Ignorance, desire, action and
the like, aye even in a hundred crore of cycles ?
56. Neither by Yoga, nor by Sankhya,
nor by work, nor by learning, but by the realisation of one's identity
with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means.
57. The beauty of a guitar’s form and
the skill of playing on its chords serve merely to please a few persons;
they do not suffice to confer sovereignty.
58. Loud speech consisting of a shower
of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition
- these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar, but
are no good for Liberation.
59. The study of the Scriptures is
useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally
useless when the highest Truth has already been known.
60. The Scriptures consisting of many
words are a dense forest which merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence
men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the
Self.
61. For one who has been bitten by the
serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of
what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred
formulae) and medicines to such a one ?
62. A disease does not leave off if one
simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly)
without direct realisation one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance
of the word Brahman.
63. Without causing the objective
universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one
to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman ? -- It
would result merely in an effort of speech.
64. Without killing one’s enemies, and
possessing oneself of the splendour of the entire surrounding region,
one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.
65. As a treasure hidden underground
requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the
removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally)
grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so
the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its
effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of
Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not
through perverted arguments.
66. Therefore the wise should, as in
the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in
their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.
67. The question that thou hast asked
today is excellent, approved by those versed in the Scriptures,
aphoristic, pregnant with meaning and fit to be known by the seekers
after Liberation.
68. Listen attentively, O learned one,
to what I am going to say. By listening to it thou shalt be instantly
free from the bondage of Samsara.
69. The first step to Liberation is the
extreme aversion to all perishable things, then follow calmness,
self-control, forbearance, and the utter relinquishment of all work
enjoined in the Scriptures.
70. Then come hearing, reflection on
that, and long, constant and unbroken meditation on the Truth for the
Muni. After that the learned seeker attains the supreme Nirvikalpa state
and realises the bliss of Nirvana even in this life.
71. Now I am going to tell thee fully
about what thou oughtst to know – the discrimination between the Self
and the non-Self. Listen to it and decide about it in thy mind.
72. Composed of the seven ingredients,
viz. marrow, bones, fat, flesh, blood, skin and cuticle, and consisting
of the following limbs and their parts – legs, thighs, the chest, arms,
the back and the head:
73. This body, reputed to be the abode
of the delusion of ‘I and mine’, is designated by sages as the gross
body. The sky, air, fire, water and earth are subtle elements. They –
74. Being united with parts of one
another and becoming gross, (they) form the gross body. And their subtle
essences form sense-objects – the group of five such as sound, which
conduce to the happiness of the experiencer, the individual soul.
75. Those fools who are tied to these
sense-objects by the stout cord of attachment, so very difficult to
snap, come and depart, up and down, carried amain by the powerful
emissary of their past action.
76. The deer, the elephant, the moth,
the fish and the black-bee – these five have died, being tied to one or
other of the five senses, viz. sound etc., through their own attachment.
What then is in store for man who is attached to all these five.
77. Sense-objects are even more
virulent in their evil effects than the poison of the cobra. Poison
kills one who takes it, but those others kill one who even looks at them
through the eyes.
78. He who is free from the terrible
snare of the hankering after sense-objects, so very difficult to get rid
of, is alone fit for Liberation, and none else – even though he be
versed in all the six Shastras.
79. The shark of hankering catches by
the throat those seekers after Liberation who have got only an apparent
dispassion (Vairagya) and are trying to cross the ocean of samsara
(relative existence), and violently snatching them away, drowns them
half-way.
80. He who has killed the shark known
as sense-object with the sword of mature dispassion, crosses the ocean
of Samsara, free from all obstacles.
81. Know that death quickly overtakes
the stupid man who walks along the dreadful ways of sense-pleasure;
whereas one who walks in accordance with the instructions of a
well-wishing and worthy Guru, as also with his own reasoning, achieves
his end – know this to be true.
82. If indeed thou hast a craving for
Liberation, shun sense-objects from a good distance as thou wouldst do
poison, and always cultivate carefully the nectar-like virtues of
contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straight-forwardness, calmness and
self-control.
83. Whoever leaves aside what should
always be attempted, viz. emancipation from the bondage of Ignorance
without beginning, and passionately seeks to nourish this body, which is
an object for others to enjoy, commits suicide thereby.
84. Whoever seeks to realise the Self
by devoting himself to the nourishment of the body, proceeds to cross a
river by catching hold of a crocodile, mistaking it for a log.
85. So for a seeker after Liberation
the infatuation over things like the body is a dire death. He who has
thoroughly conquered this deserves the state of Freedom.
86. Conquer the dire death of
infatuation over thy body, wife, children etc., -- conquering which the
sages reach that Supreme State of Vishnu.
87. This gross body is to be
deprecated, for it consists of the skin, flesh, blood, arteries and
veins, fat, marrow and bones, and is full of other offensive things.
88. The gross body is produced by one’s
past actions out of the gross elements formed by the union of the subtle
elements with each other, and is the medium of experience for the soul.
That is its waking state in which it perceives gross objects.
89. Identifying itself with this form,
the individual soul, though separate, enjoys gross objects, such as
garlands and sandal-paste, by means of the external organs. Hence this
body has its fullest play in the waking state.
90. Know this gross body to be like a
house to the householder, on which rests man’s entire dealing with the
external world.
91. Birth, decay and death are the
various characteristics of the gross body, as also stoutness etc.,
childhood etc., are its different conditions; it has got various
restrictions regarding castes and orders of life; it is subject to
various diseases, and meets with different kinds of treatment, such as
worship, insult and high honours.
92. The ears, skin, eyes, nose and
tongue are organs of knowledge, for they help us to cognise objects; the
vocal organs, hands, legs, etc., are organs of action, owing to their
tendency to work.
93-94. The inner organ (Antahkarana) is
called Manas, Buddhi, ego or Chitta, according to their respective
functions: Manas, from its considering the pros and cons of a thing;
Buddhi, from its property of determining the truth of objects; the ego,
from its identification with this body as one’s own self; and Chitta,
from its function of remembering things it is interested in.
95. One and the same Prana (vital
force) becomes Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana according to their
diversity of functions and modifications, like gold, water, etc.
96. The five organs of action such as
speech, the five organs of knowledge such as the ear, the group of five
Pranas, the five elements ending with the ether, together with Buddhi
and the rest as also Nescience, desire and action – these eight "cities"
make up what is called the subtle body.
97. Listen – this subtle body, called
also the Linga body, is produced out of the elements before their
subdividing and combining with each other, is possessed of latent
impressions and causes the soul to experience the fruits of its past
actions. It is a beginningless superimposition on the soul brought on by
its own ignorance.
98-99. Dream is a state of the soul
distinct from the waking state, where it shines by itself. In dreams
Buddhi, by itself, takes on the role of the agent and the like, owing to
various latent impressions of the waking state, while the supreme Atman
shines in Its own glory – with Buddhi as Its only superimposition, the
witness of everything, and is not touched by the least work that Buddhi
does. As It is wholly unattached, It is not touched by any work that Its
superimpositions may perform.
100. This subtle body is the instrument
for all activities of the Atman, who is Knowledge Absolute, like the
adze and other tools of a carpenter. Therefore this Atman is perfectly
unattached.
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