THE YOGA VASISTHA
IN
POEM
CHAPTER Six
By Swami Suryadevananda
10. THE STORY OF BHAGIRATH
Background
There once lived a king called Bhagirath
Devoted to righteousness in every way
He worked hard to eradicate poverty
Himself living a simple and holy life
He relished the company of holy ones
In their company he was steeped in devotion
Undergoing great difficulty he propitiated
Brahma, Siva and the sage Janhu
Discrimination and dispassion arose in him
At an early age, and thus he reflected
The meaning of this life and all action
Possible gains and hidden consequences
He concluded that if anything is to be gained
It must be the attainment of the beyond
All else was time passing vain repetition
A cycle of habit most follow in ignorance
Bhagirath's First Questions
Humbly he approached his guru
And placed before him his observation
"How does one put an end to samsara
How to eradicate ignorance and bondage"
The Guru Replies
Sorrow ceases and bondage ends
When every doubt has been dispelled
When established in perfect equanimity
And the divisionless state for a long time
When perception of division ceases to be
There is direct experience of fullness
The omnipresent self—pure consciousness
One enters into infinity and eternity
Bhagirath's Second Questions
I know that the self alone is real
The body and such are but appearances
How to experience this directly
How to go beyond intellectual understanding
The Guru Replies
Intellectual knowledge is not knowledge
Attachments keep knowledge intellectual
Be unattached to wife, son, house and wealth
Equal minded in both pleasure and pain
Love of solitude is very important
To be established in self-knowledge
Cultivate vigilance of mind's every movement
See self as distinct from thought's rise and fall
This must continue after meditation too
The mind must be continually observed
The ego-sense that gives rise to thought
Will thin and give way to self-knowledge
Bhagirath's Third Questions
This ego-sense seems well established
One with the body and sense of self
Pray, kindly instruct me in the way
To uproot this tree that is rooted deeply
The Guru Replies
Self-effort is absolutely essential
Resolutely stop 'pursuit' of sense-pleasures
By seeing the full cost of indulgence
And understanding—joy comes from within
If you abandon pursuing sense pleasures
Adopt a simple life with less concern
You will have abundant time and energy
To realize the self directly here and now
Vasistha's Comments
Hearing the guru's succinct instructions
Bhagirath renounced all without delay
Clad in simple clothes with bare necessities
Making the forest his home—unknown to any
Very soon he attained supreme peace
Content to live on what came naturally
One day he entered a city for alms
And approached a crowd that had gathered
The old king had died without any heir
The royal elephant selected Bhagirath
As king in accordance with the tradition
He accepted, as this turn came naturally
His old kingdom was adjacent to this
The citizens heard of Bhagirath's return
They implored him to rule there as well
As a king like him was not to be found
Bhagirath accepted this duty as well
And ruled both kingdoms as one land
Treating all people fairly and equally
And once again working for their welfare
Even though he was now an emperor
Ruling a vast kingdom with a large army
He was ever at peace within himself
His mind was free of desires completely
He engaged himself with what needed doing
Shining as an exemplar of righteousness
One day there arose in him an inner urge
To do something for his departed ancestors
Once again he repaired to the forest
And engaged himself in austerities
Propitiating gods and sages too
For the task of bringing Ganga to earth
His firm resolve and relentless effort
Bore fruit in time and Ganga descended
The earth and all beings were purified
By the holy waters of the sacred Ganga
Libations were performed for the ancestors
Of the king and other departed souls
Since then Ganga continues to purify
All who come unto her for regaining purity
You too can do all that Bhagirath did
What one can do, others can do
Renounce all and attain all is the rule
Live naturally doing what needs to be done
In this connection there is another story
Pray, listen with full attention and being
To the story of Sikhidhvaja and Chudala
Reborn again due to their divine love
11. THE STORY OF SIKHIDHVAJA AND CHUDALA
(This story includes three smaller stories woven into it to highlight
certain important points: Story of the Precious Stone,
Story of the Philosophers' Stone and
Story of the Wild Elephant.)
PART I: SIKHDHVAJA AND CHUDALA
Some things appear in abundance
Sometimes they are not seen for a while
Disappearing and reappearing again
In the same or in different forms
There once lived king Sikhidhvaja and queen Chudala
Both were noble, virtuous and dutiful
They shared interests of the spiritual way
Helping each other evolve in life's journey
One day the queen pondered life's meaning
She started direct inquiry into the truth
Reflecting and seeing within herself
Examining previously unconsidered notions
Queen Chudala's Direct Inquiry
Who am I and what is this ignorance
Just how did delusion arise within
The body and sense organs are not self
Both are dependent on the mind
This mind too I consider to be inert
For it is directed by the ego-sense
It thinks and entertains notions
Prompted by the intellect or buddhi
This intellect too is inert as well
It too is directed by the ego-sense
This ego-sense is inert as well
It is dependent on that which exists
That which exists is pure consciousness
Entangled somehow with these faculties
Though this is not possible as it is infinite
It is ignorance masquerading as reality
I am that self which is pure consciousness
Dwelling as the individual in this body
I am aware of all these faculties
They cannot be me—I am pure awareness
Yet somehow I've forgotten my essential nature
As pure consciousness—the only existence
Such is the power of the self—consciousness
It becomes whatever it conceives itself to be
It seems to abandon its own nature
Somehow taking on unreal limitations
Seeing itself as only objects in confusion
Experiencing itself as something else
Vasistha's Comments
Thus contemplating within herself
Queen Chudala became enlightened
Attaining what was to be known
Feeling great joy and peace within
She directly saw reality within herself
Supreme consciousness as the only truth
Untainted by any impurity or limitation
Consciousness became self-aware in her
Consciousness alone manifests as all
Body, mind, intellect and the senses
Apart from consciousness nothing is
World appearance is consciousness alone
All that is known by different names
All is consciousness—there is naught else
In it there is no division of subject-object
This arises in one's mind as delusion only
Chudala Continues Contemplation
I am pure consciousness, free of ego-sense
Birth and death do not exist in me
I have realized self—indestructible am I
I see now all forms are manmade only
What is seen and the seer are really one
All happens in the self or consciousness
I have attained to perfect quiescence
There is no this, no 'I', no you or other
Vasistha Continues
Chudala grew introverted day by day
Rejoicing more in the bliss within
Free from all craving and attachment
Neither rejecting nor running after things
In a short time she realized the truth
This world is only an appearance
She shone in the radiance of inner light
Abiding as the self—most effulgent
Seeing her in such a peaceful state
Her husband, king Sikhidhvaja, then inquired
What was it that made this difference
As he clearly felt she had some attainment
Chudala Answers Sikhidhvaja
I have abandoned the form assumed
It is an appearance, not the truth at all
I am radiant because I've attained truth
The joy of reality ever shines in the heart
I am the true ruler of the universe
Not the finite being earlier mistaken
All limitations have been abandoned
I seek nothing, want nothing—I am the all
I'm happy with whatever comes naturally
I see the self as truth—in all and everywhere
That which is myself is the only existence
There is naught else—self alone exists
Vasistha Continues
Unable and unwilling to understand
The king dismissed her words as delusion
Calling her experiences childish fancies
Though still conversing with her affectionately
The queen realized the king's mindset
Unwilling and thus unable to understand
She continued her role and her duties
Inwardly steady and abiding in self
Three ways one sees all things
First is pursuing what is desirable
Feeling that it will promote happiness
But realizing it is quite the opposite
Second is what is considered detestable
One feels avoiding it is happiness
Not realizing the avoidance itself
Is the greatest sorrow self-inflicted
Third is what one is indifferent to
This brings neither of the opposites
Indifference is not callous cold disregard
But one knows objects are appearances
Vasistha: On Gaining Psychic Powers
Psychic powers are also called siddhis
The deluded pursue these attainments
The sage of self-knowledge avoids them
As self-knowledge is the supreme attainment
All achievements depend on four factors
Time, place, action and means utilized
Action or effort is the supreme factor
Attainments are not possible without it
Immature people have faith in technique
They feel some act or trick to be most important
They exert, but from behind this limitation
And fail because being, not trick, must exert
The whole being must rise and exert
Doing what needs to be done as duty
When this inner need itself exerts
Things come with hard work but no struggle
Vasistha: On Awakening Kundalini
Abandon unrelated and opposing habits
Learn how to close the body's apertures
Master a good posture that can endure
Have pure diet and cleanliness
Contemplate the meaning of teachings
Found in the scriptures and holy ones
Good company is absolutely essential
As is right conduct in all aspects of life
Inwardly renounce things and attachments
Not as an act but in truth—you must feel this
Sit comfortably and practice pranayama
Without allowing rising thoughts to interfere
Thoughts and feelings will rise and fall
No need to interfere and suppress them
Gradually bring the life-force under control
This life-force sustains and animates all
Deep within there is a nerve passage or nadi
It is known as antravestika—source of other nadi
Existing in all beings, resting coiled at its source
It is in contact with all avenues of the body
Within the body dwells the supreme power
Known as kundalini—the prime power
When prana or life-force from the heart
Reaches kundalini awakening happens
Kundalini begins to move within oneself
Giving rise to awareness in many ways
It is the seed of consciousness and understanding
All other energies unleash when it flows
Kundalini's functions appear as diversity
It is the body, elements and life-force
It is mind, intellect, ego-sense as well
It is inhalation and exhalation sustaining life
Vasishta: On Physical and Mental Illnesses
If the downward or the upward pull
Of this inner energy is excessive
And is not arrested in some way
Death comes about as an effect
If the movement of energy is balanced
So it neither goes up nor comes down
There is unceasing harmony and balance
All diseases and ills are quickly overcome
Physical and mental ills are sources of pain
Appearing sometimes together, sometimes not
Both are rooted in ignorance and wickedness
Both end when self-knowledge is attained
Ignorance gives rise to likes and dislikes
Disrupting the inner balance and harmony
Causing the inner energy to move erratically
Leading to physical and mental ills as effects
Ignorance weakens will and mental restraint
Opening the door to poor, unhealthy habits
Useless company, indulgence and wicked thoughts
All weaken the pathways of energy's flow
Environments must be healthy in every way
Surroundings, clothes and one's company
Be ever vigilant as earlier impressions surge
Unhealthy ones can try to subvert aspiration
Minor physical ills are best corrected
By a healthy, proper mental attitude
Moderate physical ills are overcome
By treatment, prayers and right action
Serious physical ills come to end
Only when self-knowledge is attained
Mental ills are all rooted in ignorance
They cease on attaining self-knowledge
Physical ills often arise from mental ills
In confusion, the path is not clearly seen
Life-forces are agitated in confusion
Clogs result in nadis or energy pathways
By right understanding and right action
The mind becomes whole, pure and healthy
Life-forces then flow unobstructed
Diseases cease as the body heals itself
Vasistha: Consciousness as All This
Though infinite consciousness alone exists
It manifests differently as all that we see
Without undergoing any change at all
Ever unchanged while appearing to change
Just as space is space alone everywhere
A room and walls does not alter space
Consciousness ever stays consciousness
Light that animates and sustains all in itself
Slight movement of thought generates all
Elements, bodies and this world you see
Appearing one way here, another there
It alone is the substance of all these forms
Distinctions and divisions do not exist
They are all creations of the perceiver
Good, bad, latent, patent and such
All are notions only, not the reality
All forms that feel themselves separate
Distinct and not part of the one that exists
Feel so because of their conditioning
The individual is alone responsible for it
Thought is the seed of appearing diversity
From thought the trunk and branches come
Diversifying as leaves, flowers and fruit
All of it is the seed appearing diverse
Returning to the Main Story
Many psychic powers came unsought
To queen Chudala—the enlightened
She felt best to continue ordinary existence
Never exhibiting or talking of attainments
Her husband the king remained ignorant
Though she made attempts to awaken him
Even enlightened beings with powers
Cannot awaken those choosing ignorance
The instruction of preceptor to disciple
Is but a tradition, words do not liberate
Enlightenment requires purity of mind
The disciple has to purify his consciousness
Story of the Precious Stone
A wealthy villager was walking home once
He had lost a copper so began to search
Being a miser he searched in bushes too
Thinking and calculating the copper’s value
For three days he searched the dense forest
Searching areas he’d never even walked
Unmindful of the taunt of spectators
Suddenly finding a most precious stone
The cause of finding the precious treasure
Was his miserliness and search for the coin
No instruction received, the taunting endured
Even so is the case in preceptor's teachings
The preceptor teaches without teaching
Words can never take one to truth's discovery
The disciple foolishly looks for appeasement
From words and techniques which increase vanity
Sometimes the preceptor uses teachings
To make a point of something beyond them
The disciple must be alert to understand
The medium used and what is indicated
It is not that instruction is unnecessary
But it does not bring about enlightenment
The sun of enlightenment is ever here
People face their own clouds of ignorance
Back to the Main Story
Sikhidhvaja the king dwelt in delusion
Devoid of self-knowledge he floundered
Sunk in grief by many errors and mistakes
One day he contemplated the need for solitude
He resolved to repair to the forest
As yogis had done to have self-knowledge
He announced his intention to queen Chudala
And asked her not to obstruct his intention
Chudala tried to help Sikhidhvaja see
That it was not the time for this change
The heart and mind must change first
Before one tries to change the environment
The king felt she was being possessive
And resolved to leave quietly at night
Then at midnight on some pretense
He rode away to a remote dense forest
PART II: SIKHIDHVAJA IN THE FOREST
Far, far away from all habitation
He found a place deep in the forest
There he built a cottage for himself
And equipped it with all that was needed
Things he felt an ascetic should have
Plates of wood and utensils of bamboo
Earthen drinking cups, pots for flowers
Deer skins for the cooler months
He quickly drew up a plan for the day
First part was for meditation and japa
Second part he gathered flowers and food
Bathing and worship upon reaching the cottage
In the third part he ate a frugal meal
Consisting of gathered roots and fruits
Rest of the time was spent in japa
He spent most of his time in that cottage
Queen Chudala's Reaction
Chudala realized just what had happened
Seeing all directly within through meditation
She saw that her husband was caught up
In a routine and time was passing by
She ruled the kingdom respected by all
Spending her quiet hours in meditation
Eighteen years passed in this way
While her husband still followed his routine
She became aware of her husband's state
He had still not attained enlightenment
Though he had forgotten her and the kingdom
He lived as an ascetic but was still deluded
Merely living an ascetic life in the forest
Is not going to bring about an inward change
The ego that takes you there continues to thrive
In the newly created atmosphere
Chudala Thought
My husband is the same person inwardly
Though clad in skin and bark in the forest
Matted locks too, but so lonely within
Time hardened the skin and his heart
Those close to you can never be taught
They insist on preexisting relationships
My husband will spurn any help that I offer
As he will feel I am but an ignorant girl
I must disguise myself and try to help him
As his delusion increases day by day
Thus thinking she transformed herself
To appear as a young and radiant ascetic
PART III: CHUDALA AND SIKHIDHVAJA
Instantly she appeared in her radiant form
Sikhidhvaja felt a celestial had come
Instantly he adored the radiant ascetic
Chudala as an ascetic accepted his worship
She praised Sikhidhvaja's rugged austere life
Praising all he had renounced for the forest
Giving up his kingdom for a cottage
It was indeed like treading the razor's edge
Sikhidhvaja praised the young ascetic
Thanking him for the blessing of a visit
He spoke of wife and kingdom
Noting there was some resemblance
He felt most blessed by the holy visit
And asked to know more about the ascetic
To what did he owe such grace and blessing
To be enlightened by insight into the truth
The Ascetic's (Chudala) Reply
A holy sage was once meditating
In a cave on the banks of a river
Upon ending his meditation and rising
He heard sounds of women nearby
Looking closer, he saw them bathing
The noise was from their playfulness
In their beauty he was overcome with lust
His mind momentarily lost its balance
Though he was a sage of great learning
A liberated one—free from desires
His limitless consciousness was shaken
In that moment lust invaded his mind
The Ascetic: On the Dual Forces
The body of all beings is subject to sway
By the dual forces of like and dislike
As long as one is embodied—ignorant or wise
The dual forces can dance and create havoc
Satisfying pleasure does not appease appetite
Pleasure's appeasement is an experience of pain
As when the self—reality—is forgotten
The object of experience attains expansion
If there is unbroken awareness or vigilance
There is light within—so this does not happen
Dual forces may rise, they fall the same way
One abides as awareness—free of its sway
Events and conditions may come and go
Impressions are not created in the mind
Older impressions cannot act out at all
As awareness is also pure subjectivity
Ideas of pleasure and pain may arise
They are just like winds rustling about
But if awareness is lost for even a moment
Passing winds will assume a sense of reality
Bondage is subjection to pleasure and pain
Without subjection there is enlightenment
Unbroken awareness is itself equilibrium
One realizes pleasure and pain do not exist
Pleasure and pain are one's reactions
They do not exist in things or the world
When ignorance gets no fuel for delusion
It is enlightened—reabsorbed in consciousness
The Ascetic: On Pleasure and Energy Loss
The individual agitates the life-force
Life-force extracts vital energy from the body
This energy descends as seminal energy
And discharged naturally during pleasure
The Ascetic: On Nature
Brahman alone existed as Brahman
Somehow some ripples appeared within
All accidental coincidence in Brahman
Different forms and nature—all called nature
From such nature of self the universe was born
Sustained by self-limitation due to conditioning
Alternating between order and disorder
Giving rise to periods of conflict and peace
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My
humble salutations to H H Sri Swami
Suryadevananda ji and H H Sri Swami Venkatesananda ji for the
collection)
0 comments:
Post a Comment