THE YOGA VASISTHA
IN
POEM
CHAPTER Four
By Swami Suryadevananda
- THE STORY OF THE THREE DEMONS
First Batch: Dama, Vyala and Kata
A powerful demon Sambara once existed
Master of magic, he invaded heaven
Afraid of his powers, gods hid themselves
And continued to fight—though invisibly
He created three demons for protection
Dama, Vyala and Kata were their names
They were totally fearless and bold
As they did not have any mental conditioning
Unafraid of death, they fought fiercely
But unable to find the gods at all
The gods sought relief from Brahma
Who advised them to lie low for a while
Brahma's Advice to the Gods
Sambara cannot be killed right now
Best for you to retreat a while
His three demons are invincible
As they have no mental conditioning
The ego-sense 'me' binds the mind
Conditions it positively or
negatively
Abodes of suffering and sorrow are they
But the unconditioned mind is unbeatable
Do what you can to arouse in them
Feelings of ego: 'I' and 'mine'
Since they are ignorant by nature
They will easily fall for this bait
Rise of Ego is Self-Defeat
The gods fought the demons and their army
In such a way to arouse thoughts in them
Of victory—they felt they were winning
Of fear—when they saw others die
The idea of 'I' and 'mine' began to seed
Notions gave rise to much confusion
Jubilee at winning but fearful of loss
Their armor of courage began to rust
As a mirror reflects objects close to it
One's behavior reflects inner content
So too ego-sense reflects in consciousness
But if held distant would not do so
With the ego-sense arose desires
To prolong life and acquire more
This weakened their will-power
Generating confusion in their minds
Feelings of possessiveness and greed
Result in inefficiency and inability
As uncertainty generates fear
Based on attachment to notions
With fear comes loss of heart
The demons lost their courage
Demoralized they fled the scene
To find refuge in the netherworld
Though free from birth and death's grip
The rise of ego-sense reversed their fate
Thus they underwent many life cycles
And live now as fish in a deep lake
In time they will hear their story
And recollect their true nature
They will then abandon their ego-sense
And attain the state of liberation
The rise of ego-sense was their fall
Cravings resulted in loss of will-power
Notions of 'I' and 'mine' are the ropes
Which bind one to ignorance and delusion
Pure consciousness entertains impure notions
It experiences its distortion within itself
Without renouncing its essential nature
Experiences delusion without being deluded
The Wise
The wise do not get caught in polemics
They exert relentlessly—but are patient
They know all craving and desires
Will instantly lead to their downfall
They study but are light on their own path
Direct experience is their inner flame
Self-led—they do not lead others either
As each must awaken and exert individually
Wealth and comfort bring a host of ills
Complacency and ideas of dependency
Misfortune is the very best fortune
Rejection by all is the greatest victory
When cravings' pull is abandoned
Goodness glows within the heart
One's life is a reflection of this light
Shining from the lamp of contentment
Sincere zealous efforts must fructify
Hence never abandon right effort
Direct all energy towards self-discovery
'Tis the only remedy for every condition
Natural restraint is wisdom in life
The idea of suppression never arises
Energies are channeled to what is best
Like autumn leaves fall to their rest
There is no use crying for liberation
If the mind has not been well purified
The purified mind is liberation itself
The unpurified mind is itself sorrow
The feeling of 'I' as a separate entity
Is the root, branch and stem of grief
All cravings are its many thorns
Self-knowledge alone is the remedy
Get rid of the feeling of 'I-ness' ruthlessly
'Tis ignorance itself—harbinger of pain
Gradually expand the idea of 'I'
Till you abide in the divisionless state
Second Batch: Bhima, Bhasa and Dridha
After Sambara experienced defeat
When the first batch of demons deserted
He realized they had entertained egoism
With self-knowledge things would be different
He created three demons most fierce
Bhima, Bhasa and Dridha were their names
Endowed with self-knowledge were they
Full of dispassion and without previous birth
Fiercely they fought with the gods
The idea of death did not exist for them
Though they caused and saw many deaths
As they were fearless due to self-knowledge
Lord Vishnu intervened at the gods' behest
After a long battle the three were slain
But instantly were granted liberation by the Lord
As they were enlightened—without ego-sense
Vasistha's Insight
The conditioned mind is bondage itself
The unconditioned mind is liberation
The truth must be seen—directly by oneself
For inner clarity which is liberation
The first batch of demons fled battle
Their minds were conditioned by ego-sense
The second batch required divine intervention
As their minds were free of all conditioning
True heroes are they who've conquered mind
Freed it from the shackles of ignorance
'Tis the only remedy for all suffering
In the vicious cycle of birth and death
Listen attentively to the highest wisdom
Let your whole life be perfumed by it
Bondage is craving for pleasure
Its abandonment is liberation
The Universe in Infinite Consciousness
As future waves exist in a calm sea
This universe exists in consciousness
As reflections seen appear very real
So does the universe in consciousness
As space is unaffected by floating clouds
Consciousness is unaffected by the universe
As refracting mediums reveal light's presence
Consciousness is revealed through the universe
The universe is consciousness reflecting in itself
Essentially nameless and formless 'tho visible
These appear very real to the ignorant
In spite of all their study and learning
Uncreated, imperishable is consciousness
Eternity with reflections within itself
As waves dance playfully on the ocean
All forms are the play of consciousness
Since the substratum of forms is reality
Pure eternal infinite consciousness
Forms' appearances generate confusion
As to their reality or seeming appearance
A mutual causal relationship exists
Between forms and their substratum
But just as waves on oceans' bosom
Forms and source are non-different
The deep ocean is not agitated
Waves make it appear to be so
Consciousness conscious of itself
Somehow considers itself as another
Brahman permeates all and everything
'Tis what enables all experience
Notions of agency and enjoyment
Are two phases of experiencing
Interest in action but impersonal
Is the hallmark of one with wisdom
Mental action is real action
The wise do the needful but remain free
The vast universe that you see
Is the supreme being made visible
Diversity is only an appearance
Brahman is the only reality
The accidental intention of consciousness
Solidifies into substance in appearance
The mind instantly objectifies what appears
Though its only an appearance within itself
Conscious-energy manifests space
In which diverse appearances are seen
All creation has manifested this way
All this takes place in the supreme Lord
Creation as such is a mere word
The supreme Lord alone exists
As dirt removed reveals the substance
Remove darkness and behold the Light
Do not get caught up in the words
Look at what they point to instead
Infinite consciousness alone exists
Remove ignorance and know directly
Maya is another name for ignorance
Become aware of ignorance's play
Your duty is to attain self-knowledge
Which alone can destroy ignorance
Worry not about how ignorance exists
Concern yourself instead with its removal
When ignorance has ceased to be
You will know its unreality
The forms that exist are the field
Witnessing consciousness their knower
It only seems to become involved somehow
In the field which is really its own self
If one abandons inquiry into truth
Ignorance embraces him immediately
Caught in the grip of appearances
The vise of conditioning tightens its teeth
Countless species are seen in creation
Some caught more deeply than others
Some strive hard to free themselves
Some succeed—blessed indeed are they
Those who break ignorances' fetters
And attain to the natural state
Do not return to the vicious cycle
Of birth, death, suffering and pain
That which did not exist in the beginning
Cannot exist in the end either
Yet somehow experienced in the middle
Only because of lack of investigation
All that you see is mind's jugglery
Let appearances rise—let them fall
Attachment to these appearances
Will bind one to pain as they change
Wean the mind from all craving
'Tis the way to avoid suffering
Be established in the unconditioned
Move joyfully on the raft of self-knowledge
With intelligence sharp as a razors' edge
Sift appearances from mixing with reality
You are endowed with what's needed
To break free of ignorance's citadel
Live as sages of self-knowledge do
Established firmly in reality
No need to renounce activity at all
You are free abiding in self-knowledge
Work in the world without getting lost
Pursuit of pleasure is a downward road
Rejection of appearances is the upward path
To cross the birth and death cycle and be free
- THE STORY OF DASHURA
From Orphan to Sage
Dashura was the son of a great sage
Both parents died when he was young
The forest he lived in nurtured him well
Teaching him wisdom—he became a sage
His earlier rigorous austerities were physical
Hemmed in by rules—do's and don'ts
Immersed in rituals, injunctions and prohibitions
Hoping to realize the truth he was taught
In a huge tree he took up abode
Which seemed to bridge earth to sky
He felt creation to be the Lord’s cosmic form
Sun and moon as eyes—nature sounds as hymns
He sat on the topmost branch of this tree
His vision traversing far and wide
Immersed in this—cosmic being appeared
On that very spot he commenced his austerities
His later austerities were performed through the mind
The mind is a magazine of tremendous power
Heart and mind were thoroughly purified
He shone as a sage with the highest wisdom
A most beautiful lady came by one day
As deity of forest she greeted him
Expressing her sadness at being childless
Asking the sage's blessing for a son
The sage handed her a nearby creeper
And assured her she would soon have a son
Just as the creeper would have flowers
The grateful forest deity departed gracefully
She came again after twelve years had
passed
With a young lad about that age—sage's son
She had instructed the boy in branches of learning
And asked the sage to teach him self-knowledge
Without self-knowledge one is only a fool
No matter what might be his accomplishments
So she implored the sage to care for him
The sage consented—she departed gracefully
Story in a Story
Listen attentively to this inspiring story
It gives great insight concerning this world
Once lived a mighty king called Khotta
Capable of conquering all the worlds
His every command was honored by all
His deeds—too innumerous to list
Productive of both—happiness and sorrow
He reigned supreme—challenged by none
His three bodies engulfed the worlds
Best, middling and least they were
Established in space—a city he built
With fourteen roads and three sectors
High peaks, gardens and seven lakes he built
Adorning all with beautiful things
Two lights—one hot and the other one cold
Undiminished were they in their brilliance
Several types of beings he created too
Arranged with different appearances
Different life-spans to each he assigned
Each had nine gates and were well ventilated
Five lamps and three pillars had each
Whitish wood-like poles supported them
Soft outer coverings offered protection
Creations of maya—the king's illusory power
Here the king besports himself
In the company of ghosts and goblins
Fearful of inquiry or investigation
Protectors of the mansions—different bodies
Thinking to move to another land
And envisioning this place he migrated
With his entourage of ghosts and goblins
Occupying the new but similar mansion
Just like this does the cycle repeat
Construction, destruction and migration
Wailing aloud—helpless and ignorant
Sometimes in joy but mostly sunk in misery
Vasistha's Insight
Thus does he live—comes, goes and flourishes
Tossed in the ocean of world-appearance
This illustration is creation, universe and man
The king in the story is but a notion or wish
Arising in the great void of its own accord
'Twill dissolve in the great void of its own accord too
All that you see and know are similar notions
The intention alone is responsible for creation
The city built by the king is the entity
The ghosts guarding the city are ego-principle
The king roams this world in waking and dream
From one city, body and realm to another
After tireless walking about here and there
Exhausting desires—wisdom develops within
He reaches the end of his wandering
By the cessation of notions and experiences
He still drifts between wisdom and pleasure-seeking
As all notions have not yet been abandoned
This causes even more suffering and torment
Till he renounces all notions for liberation
No amount of religious activity
Even the best of teachers will not do
Unless all notions are completely abandoned
For only then can the mind go beyond itself
When infinite consciousness is somehow aware
Of consciousness itself as an object
This consciousness now perceived as an object
Becomes gross and seemingly fills much space
Engrossed in ideation about this object
It imagines itself distinct from itself
Then ideation grows and multiplies rapidly
This becoming is the cause of all sorrow
Hold on to existence—abandon all ideas
By ideas does future come into being
Abandon thought—'tis the seed of ideas
Without thought-seed—ideas and notions cease
Abandoning thought and ideas is easier
Than dealing with the sorrow they bring about
Far easier than crumbling a flower in your palm
As this takes effort—abandoning thought does not
As notions weaken—great joy is experienced
One feels freer from earlier turmoil
The ropes that bind are thought constructions
Abandoning thought is abandoning bondage
This story illustrates the nature of world-appearance
Therefore it is as true as the world itself
Whether you believe creation to be real or not
Rest firmly in your own self—existence is truth
Infinite consciousness is itself pure existence
Do not let ideas or thought cloud your vision
Rest established in the self—in consciousness
'Tis what the best of holy men ever dwell in
When one's house is on fire is not the time
To inquire about the world's existence
All in its own time—what is important now
Is abandoning thoughts and notions as poison
Gird up your loins for this task on hand
With the self—seek the self of all
Fuel for the journey is self-effort
Clarity will be had as you tread along
Bondage is bondage to thoughts and notions
Freedom is freedom from both of these
Cultivate the good in every way
Abandon all that results from notions
All notions including that of ego-sense
Must be ruthlessly abandoned—let go
The heart will be flooded by infinite space
'Tis verily the presence of the supreme Lord
Live then an active life or a quieter one
There is no detriment in either choice
But renunciation of notions is requisite
'Tis the seed of all sorrow and suffering
These forms you consider so desirable
All these things that seem worth striving for
Are all formations of the very same substance
That you yourself are also composed of
Pursuit of these forms is self-destruction
Trying to preserve the ever-changing too
Shame on those who still pursue them
They themselves relinquish their real heritage
The wise are not enamored by these forms
They ever abide in the truth—substance of all
Hear now the most inspiring song of Kaca
Son of the preceptor of the gods
5. KACA'S SONG
I am the Fullness
What shall I do? Where shall I go?
What to hold? What to renounce?
The entire universe is permeated
By the one self—the self is the all
Unhappiness and happiness are self
Desires are empty voids that appear
Having known all this by direct experience
I'm free from sorrow's grip while still living
Everywhere I go I move within self
Everything that exists is self alone
I myself exist as this universe
I am the cosmic ocean's fullness
Vasistha's Insight
As Kaca sang he intoned the holy OM
hich resounded like a bell everywhere
Inside and outside did not exist for him
Remaining fully absorbed in the self right there
Living beings are natural in world-appearance
But all of this is in infinite consciousness only
As ripples and waves in the great ocean
Non-different though they are seen to exist
Some beings are born with a purer nature
Having turned away from impurity earlier
Others have degrees of impurity
As they still continue to function impurely
Purity is firm rootedness in the truth
Infinite consciousness is the only reality
Impurity is total forgetfulness of truth
Pursuing pleasures with different excuses
The pure have abandoned thoughts and desires
The impure still seem them worth pursuing
They continue to live in delusion by choice
Abandon all thoughts and notions and be free
Let there be unbroken self-inquiry
Who am I? How has all this arisen?
Abandon egoism and all attraction
Realize the truth as divisionless
The same consciousness illumining the sun
Dwells in the little worm that crawls around
Relentlessly inquire into the nature of truth
The holy ones and scriptures are great help
Approach the teacher—wise and capable
He must be free from all pleasure craving
Study the self with the aid of scriptures
Practice the great yoga and realize the self
Only a person intelligent like you, O Rama
Good natured and with equal vision
Is entitled to behold the wisdom unfolded here
You are already liberated—live like one!
END OF CHAPTER IV
Om Tat Sat
(End of Chapter Four...)
( My
humble salutations to H H Sri Swami Suryadevananda
ji and H H Sri Swami Venkatesananda ji for the collection)
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