The Yoga Vasishta in Poem (Chapter One) -2

THE YOGA VASISTHA

IN POEM

CHAPTER ONE

By Swami Suryadevananda

The Body

A pitiable composition is this body

Source of pain though insentient

Delighted with a little gratification

Distressed by the least adversity

This body can be compared to a tree

Branches for arms, trunk for torso  

Holes for eyes, fruits for head

Leaves for its abundant illnesses

Resting place for all living beings

Still we cannot say it is our own

A boat to cross life's turbulent ocean

It cannot be regarded as one's self

This tree born in the forest of samsara1

1 Samsara: repetitive existence

Restless monkey mind plays on it

Abode of crickets are our worries

Insects of suffering eat it constantly

Serpent of craving resides in it

Crow of anger stays here as well

Flowers of laughter, fruits good and bad

Wind of life-force does animate it

Birds on it are different senses

Resorted to by traveler of desire

Providing pleasure as its shade

Vulture of ego is seated on it

Hollow and empty is this tree

It cannot give lasting happiness

Living and falling in a short time

Subject to decay, old age and death

Filled with impurities is this body

I am not the least bit enamored by it

Afflicted by the disease of ignorance

How can this fulfill any hopes I have?

Home of illness and mental distress

With changing emotions and moods

Though we care and protect it well

It abandons us at death ruthlessly

Its only purpose is to burn at death

Shame on those bound to the body

Deluded by the wine of ignorance

Shame on those bound in this world

Childhood   

Regarded as enjoyable, but not really so

Filled with helplessness and mishaps

Cravings, inability to express oneself

Utter foolishness, instability and weakness

The child is easily hurt and angered

Easily bursts into tears and anguish

Living completely at the mercy of others

Exposed to everything without choice

Easily influenced by the wicked

Subjected to control and punishment

Filled with hidden sinful behavior

Extremely restless and unhappy

The child must have new things daily

Crying and weeping—its foremost activities

Not getting what it wants each day

It looks and acts heart broken

Being disciplined by its teachers

Being promised everything by its parents

The child begins to value things promised

Seeds of delusion are sown in childhood

Unable to avoid heat and cold

How is the child better than a tree?

Leery is he like animals and birds

As the child is fearful of its elders

Youth

Transitioning from childhood to youth

Unable to leave unhappiness behind

Subjected to more and more conditioning

He embraces things and desires increase

Wisdom is lost as desires increase

Delusion enters the heart and mind

Selfish actions become his activity

Causing unhappiness to others and himself

Even as great forests are consumed by fire

Lust and impurities consume the mind

Distracted by thoughts of pleasures

He loses his inner peace and calm  

Dashing after short lived pleasures

Makes a beggar of the young prince

Continually distracted and ever wanting

Youth breeds much mental distress

When lust and desires enter the heart

Good qualities are hastily abandoned

Each time this cycle repeats itself

Goodness is set aside callously

Youth appears desirable physically

It is most destructive to the mind

Temptations plunge one to sorrow

Hence I am not enamored by youth

They are great who have overcome

Survived the taint and evils of youth

Without succumbing to temptations

Or increasing likes and dislikes

He becomes a slave of sexual attraction

Though the body is full of impurities

Wisdom is lost in the insistence

Of what is not over what really is

Old Age

Dissatisfaction of youth brings old age

How cruel indeed is this life

Just as the wind tosses a dew drop

Old age mercilessly destroys the body

As a drop of poison enters the body

And begins to thoroughly consume it

Senility enters representing old age

Making one a laughing stock for all

Unable to satisfy desires in old age

But desires continue to grow

Too late he begins to self-inquire

Too late to change life's course

Senility is the royal attendant

Weakness an invitation to death

Rare are those without enemies

Rarer those unaffected by senility  

Time

Enjoyments and pleasures are delusion

Reflected in the mirror of the mind

All controlled by the wheel of time

Which leaves nothing undestroyed

Time gives a glimpse of itself

As year and age but stays hidden

Overpowering all and everything

Consuming all most mercilessly

The greatest magician of all is time

It cannot be analyzed at all

Consuming insects and gods too

In the fury of its insatiable appetite

Like a boy playing with a little ball

Time plays with the sun and moon

Creating and dissolving universes

Time is established in the absolute

Continually at work without rest

Time does not tire or rejoice

Neither coming nor going at all

Never rising—neither does it set

The gourmet time sees all objects

As they ripen in the fire of sun

As tasty treats for consuming

And wipes them out playfully

To lotus of youth—the nightfall

To elephant of time—the lion

Destroying all and everything

But indestructible is this time

As one sleeps after a hard day

Time sleeps during dissolution

With creation-potential hidden in it

Unknowable and unfathomable is time

Life and Death

All that we see is dream-like

Appearing and ever changing

Mountains become  

Fertile soil becomes arid desert

Not only do things keep changing

But we are ever changing too

Age, lifestyle and fortune

Ever dance to their own tune

Life-and-death cycle—a skilled dancer

With a skirt made of human souls

Lifting them up in forward movement

Hurling them down in backward step

Everything she consigns to memory

Great deeds, rituals and rites too

Humans are reborn as animals

Is there anything unchanging here?

The gods are destroyed as well

The pleasant reveal their ugliness

Just as a boy plays with a mud ball

Everything gets created and destroyed

Rama's Closing Thoughts

Perception of defects in the world

Has stilled my mind's tendencies

Sense-pleasures do not arise within

As mirages do not appear on water

The delightful appears bitter to me

I do not relish pleasures or wealth

I wish to remain at peace within

Seeking freedom from this tyranny

I am constantly inquiring within

How to wean heart from the world

I do not care how long I live

As long as I remain ever free

If not established in wisdom now

Will there ever be another opportunity

Indulgences will consume lifetimes

Self-knowledge is all that I now seek

Therefore, O Sage, I pray to thee

Kindly do thou please instruct me  

On freedom from anguish and distress

In the light of your instruction

Destroy the ignorance in my heart

This I humbly request of thee

I am filled with grief and confused

And shudder with each step I take

I have given up everything I have

But am yet to be established in wisdom

Partly caught and partly freed am I

And wish self-control but haven't the means

Pray tell me that condition or state

Which is beyond the experience of grief

How does one live in this world

And reach the abode of peace and bliss?

What attitude should one have in life?

What is it that needs to be done?

How does one free the mind of its lust?

As the mind sees worth in the worthless

Whose biography should I study?

How should I live in this world?

How to be free of love and hate?

What is the secret to escape grief?

Holy sir kindly do instruct me

How to counteract habit of mind?

That is itself spread out as creation

In the form of this visible universe

Who are those great heroes

Who have crossed over delusion?

What methods did they adopt

To free themselves of bondage?

Kind sage do thou please instruct me

Of the way and of the means

If you consider I am unfit for this

I shall fast unto death certainly

Valmiki Said

All assembled in the royal court

Were greatly inspired by Rama's words

It seems as if Rama spoke their plight

They sat as statues in great delight

Among those who listened to Rama's words

Were sages Vasistha and Vishvamitra

The king and his court of ministers

Citizens, servants, animals and birds too

Even gods and sages from near and far

All acclaiming in one voice 'Bravo, bravo'

Showers of flowers descended on Rama

As none but he could give such expression

Then came about pin drop silence

Skies and heavens stood at attention

Hearing what was about to be revealed

Sages and the wise came to listen and learn

All were received with due honors

And seated respectfully in assembly

All knowing this they could never miss

Rama's wisdom was a priceless gift to all

 

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

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