The Yoga Vasishta in Poem (Chapter One) -1

THE YOGA VASISTHA

IN POEM

CHAPTER ONE

By Swami Suryadevananda

PRAYER BEFORE READING

Salutations to that supreme reality

In which all shine as if independently

In which they exist for a short while

And into which they merge eventually

Salutations to that consciousness

Source of apparent threefold division

Of knower, knowledge and known

Seer, sight and seen; doer, doing and deed

Salutations to that bliss-absolute

Which is the life of all beings

Deriving happiness from the shower

Of its ocean of supreme

CHAPTER ONE

DEALING WITH DISPASSION

A Seeker's Plight: Work or Knowledge

Wise sage kindly do thou instruct

On this problem of liberation

Which of these is more conducive

Is it work or is it knowledge?

Dear one kindly consider

Birds fly with both their wings

Work and knowledge go together

Leading to the goal of liberation

Hear now an ancient legend

Consider, then do as you please

There was a sage in days of yore

Who was invited to heaven's abode

He asked the messenger inviting him

Of heaven's merits and demerits

As the wise never leap blindly

Based on hearsay or appearance

The messenger informed the sage

Heaven is where fruits were reaped

Of good deeds after exhausting which

One returns back to this very world

The sage could not see any wisdom

In a short detour of indulgence

As it weakens one's condition

And returns one in worsened state

The sage declined the invitation

Seeing it as a loss and not a gain

The messenger requested the wise sage

To kindly reconsider this once again

At the request of the messenger

The sage sought counsel with Valmiki

A wise sage who narrated to him

The story of Rama and Vasistha

Sage Valmiki's Counsel

Qualified is one to take up study

Of the dialogue of Rama and Vasistha

Who feels bound and seeks liberation

Being neither ignorant nor enlightened

Valmiki spoke about the background

Of the dialogue he revealed for all

Containing the secret of liberation

Of Rama and those who listened sincerely

This is not merely a story in the past

But contains a teaching for eternity

If you too live like they did live

You will attain freedom from sorrow

This world-appearance is a confusion

Just like the blueness of the sky

It is better not to dwell on it

But to ignore it while it lasts

Neither freedom nor self-realization

Is possible till conviction arises

That world-appearance is confusion

Between the real and the unreal

Study this scripture or any other

But get beyond the confusion

Of appearance and reality

And attain freedom from sorrow

Liberation is the total abandonment

Of mental conditioning without reserve

Impure conditioning causes birth

Pure conditioning helps liberate

Abandon the roots of bondage

Abandon their very seeds as well

Abandon nescience and ego-sense

Abide in the pure which does sustain

This pure and sustaining force

Does not lead to rebirth at all

It sustains by previous momentum

And not by present motivation

Hear now the story of Rama

Who lived enlightened like a sage

Knowing the truth you will be freed

From misunderstanding and all sorrow

The Story of Rama Begins

Upon completing his education

Rama toured the whole country

The nature of a pilgrim is pilgrimage

To see and discover things as they are

Returning he resumed his duties

But a profound change he underwent

He appeared thin, weak and in ill health

But replied to all that he was fine

Sage Vasistha knew that every change

Surely has a deeper hidden cause

Rama's father, the king, did not wish to know

As truth can be quite inconvenient

Sage Vishvamitra's Arrival

Soon Sage Vishvamitra of world renown

Arrived at Rama's father's court

The king welcomed him with great praise

Granting in advance any boon he sought

Vishvamitra revealed his mission clearly

Asking for Rama's help for security

As he was undertaking a religious rite

And was being troubled by some demons

Because of the nature of the ritual

He could not provide his own security

And knowing Rama's true nature

Felt this would bring him great glory

He asked the king not to delay

On account of attachment to his son

In sending Rama with him immediately

He would confer on Rama great blessings

The stunned king gave various excuses

Finally saying with Rama he could not part

Often powerful demons occupied the stage

And in time, the world stage they did depart

Vishvamitra was angered by these words

As he knew very well who Rama was

And promise given should be honored

Seeing this Sage Vasistha intervened

Said Sage Vasistha to the wise king

You should never go back on your word

Kings are exemplars of righteous conduct

Rama would be safe with Sage Vishvamitra

Sage Vasistha was the king's preceptor

The king obeyed his guidance respectfully

He asked his attendants to fetch Rama

Hearing more from them about his son

Rama's Condition

O king said the royal attendants

Rama has changed so drastically

He seems dejected and shuns company

The king now inquired even further

The chamberlains said Rama had changed

Since returning from the long pilgrimage

He has no interest in princely ways

And shuns all entertainment as poison

He rejects all princely royal privileges

And sometimes muses to himself aloud

What is the use of wealth and fortune

All of this is unreal and sorrow giving

He remains alone contemplating silently

He seems to relish his own solitude

Ever immersed in his own thoughts

Getting more emaciated by the day

He sings to himself repeatedly

We want change but aren't willing to change

We are wasting our life in various ways

Instead of trying to reach the supreme

Seeing him and hearing his words

We too are all greatly distressed  

He seems bereft of hope and desires

Not deluded, not enlightened either

He says there is no use in any of these

Wealth, family and even kingdom

All the ambition in the world

O king, please do find his remedy

Sage Vishvamitra then interceded

He requested for Rama's presence

Knowing dispassion born of wisdom

Had blossomed leading to enlightenment

Just then Rama himself appeared in court

Saluting and offering his respects to all

His face shone with peace of maturity

The king, his father, welcomed him warmly

Dear son do kindly explain to us

What is it that seems to sadden you

Dejection is an invitation to misery

The wise sages nodded in agreement

Rama's Observation of Life

O sages, happy indeed was childhood

The best of teachers instructed me

But a trend of thought recently arisen

Has taken a hold of me completely

My heart questions what happiness is

How it can be had in the changing world

All beings are born to die in this world

And all die to be born again as well

What is the meaning in all this change?

Why do we suffer and sin endlessly?

Unrelated beings come together

The mind conjures relationships strangely

Everything verily depends on the mind

And its ever changing attitude to all

But this very mind appears unreal

When inquired into quite seriously

We are running after a mirage foolishly  

Living without freedom in slavery

Wandering the world's forest aimlessly

Witnessing the dance of birth and death

How does this suffering finally end?

Is there a way out of life's bondage?

Though I shed no tears externally

My heart cries and bleeds profusely

Wealth

It is wealth which deludes the ignorant

Creating worries, causing unsteadiness

Generating an appetite for even more

Indifferent to good and bad people

Wealth hardens the heart of all

As they pursue more and more of it

Happiness and wealth do not coexist

Rare are the wealthy without enemies

Wealth is the seed of evil thoughts

It adds fear to one's distress

Wealth seems to seek the one

Whom death has already chosen

Lifespan

Short in duration is this lifespan

Like a water droplet on a leaf

This lifespan is only fruitful to those

Who have attained self-knowledge

Blowing winds we may encompass

Indivisible space we may divide

Waves we may thread into a garland

But hopes on this lifespan are futile

One tries vainly to extend his life

Only to increase sorrow and suffering

Only those who strive to know the self

Can hope to have some real gain

Knowledge and wisdom are burdens

To the unwise, full of desires

Mind and lifespan are burdens too

To the restless, without self-knowledge  

The rat of time gnaws at lifespan

Termites of disease eat one's vitals

Just as a cat hungrily eyes the rat

Death hungrily eyes this lifespan

Egotism

Most fearful it is to contemplate

The entry into wisdom by egotism

It approaches in darkness with stealth

And flourishes in its own ignorance

Endless sinful tendencies it generates

All suffering revolves around egotism

It is always 'I' that does suffer

It is the sole cause of mental distress

Egotism is the worst disease of all

Masterfully pushing poison as pleasure

Ruthlessly trapping all living beings

All world's calamities it does create

The Mind

Eclipsing self-control, it creates havoc

Destroying virtue and equanimity

All done with ego-notion is wasted

From its clutches I now seek freedom

Bereft of grace earned through service

The impure mind still drifts aimlessly

Dissatisfied with all and anything it gets

It is impossible to satisfy its appetite

This mind wanders without purpose

Unable to find happiness anywhere

Unmindful of the suffering it brings

Ruthless it is in its blind pursuits

Bound by the knots of craving am I

The net laid out by this mind only

Just as rushing rivers carry away

I feel uprooted and taken downstream

The cause of objects is the mind alone

Whatever exists in all the worlds

Is so because of mind-stuff only  

Worlds vanish without this mind  

Many errors result when craving surges

As darkness of ignorance eclipses wisdom

All good qualities do get dried up

The heart is hardened by craving's dance

Though I try hard to restrain craving

It insists on its own appeasement

Overpowered and carried away I am

Now I revolve pinned to craving's wheel

Like birds in a net who cannot fly

I feel trapped in the net of craving

Which runs directionless like a mad horse

Imposing a tight net of relationships

Hero converted to a coward I am

With eyes to see but blind I am

Full of joy but miserable I am

A dreadful goblin is this craving

Unable to enjoy natural pleasures

Coming unsought as gifts from above

I am made to submit to vain efforts

Leading to endless misery and suffering

Craving occupies life's stage dominantly

An aged actress incapable of performing

Dances to self-defeat and humiliation

Yet refuses to stop her painful dance

Surging to the skies at one moment

Then diving to the depths of gloom

This up and down—based on emptiness

Glory to sages, masters of the mind

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...)  

( My humble salutations to H H Sri Swami  Suryadevananda ji and H H Sri Swami Venkatesananda ji for the collection)