TRIPURA RAHASYA OR THE MYSTERY BEYOND THE TRINITY -2

TRIPURA RAHASYA

OR

THE MYSTERY BEYOND THE TRINITY

Translated by

SWAMI SRI RAMANANANDA SARASWATHI

(Munagala S. Venkataramaiah)

Sri Ramanasramam

Tiruvannamalai

CHAPTER IV

Disgust for Worldly Enjoyments is Inculcated

so that Dispassion might be Developed

1-3. On hearing the sweet words of her infatuated

lover, who was all the time pressing her to his bosom, that

stainless girl, wishing to teach him, smiled gently and

spoke with good sense as follows: Listen to me, O Prince.

It is not that I do not love you, only that I am trying to

discover what the greatest joy in life is, which will never

become distasteful. I am always searching for it, but have

not attained it as yet.

4. Though always looking for it, I have not reached

any definite decision, as is a woman’s way. Will you not

kindly tell me what exactly it is and so help me?

5. Being thus coaxed, Hemachuda laughed derisively

and told his beloved: Women are indeed silly.

6-8. For do not even the birds and beasts, nay the

crawling insects know what is good and what is bad?

Otherwise, how are they guided in the pursuit of good, and

how do they escape from bad? That which is pleasing is clearly

good and that which is not so, is bad. What is there in it, my

dear, that you are always given to thinking about it? Is it not

silly? Hearing her lover speak thus, Hemalekha continued:

9. True that women are silly and cannot judge rightly.

Therefore should I be taught by you, the right discerner.

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10. On being rightly taught by you, I shall stop

thinking like that. Also, I shall then be able to share in

your pleasures to your entire satisfaction.

11. O King, subtle judge that you are, you have found

happiness and misery to be the results of what is pleasing

or otherwise.

12. But the same object yields pleasure or pain according

to circumstances. Where is then the finality in your statement?

13. Take fire for example. Its results vary according

to seasons, the places and its own size or intensity.

14. It is agreeable in cold seasons and disagreeable in

hot seasons. Pleasure and pain are, therefore, functions of

seasons; similarly of latitudes and altitudes.

15. Again, fire is good for people of certain constitutions

only and not for others. Still again, pleasure and pain depend

on circumstances.

16-17. The same reasoning applies to cold, to riches, to

sons, to wife, to kingdom and so on. See how your father, the

Maharaja, is daily worried even though he is surrounded by

wife, children and wealth. Why do not others grieve like this?

What has happened to enjoyments in his case? He is certainly

on the lookout for happiness; are not his resources all directed

to that end?

18. No one seems to possess everything that is sufficient

for happiness. The question arises: Cannot a man be happy,

even with such limited means? I shall give you the answer.

19. That cannot be happiness, my Lord, which is tinged

with misery. Misery is of two kinds, external and internal.

20. The former pertains to the body and is caused by

the nerves, etc.; the latter pertains to the mind and is

caused by desire.

21. Mental distraction is worse than physical pain

and the whole world has fallen a victim to it. Desire is the

seed of the tree of misery and never fails in its fruits.

22. Overpowered by it, Indra and the Devas, though

living in celestial regions of enjoyment and fed by nectar,

are still slaves to it and work day and night according to

its dictates.

23. Respite gained by the fulfilment of one desire before

another takes its place, is not happiness, because the seeds

of pain are still latent. Such respite is enjoyed by the insects

also (which certainly do not typify perfect happiness).

24. Yet is their enjoyment distinctly better than that

of men because their desires are less complex?

25. If it is happiness to have one desire among many

fulfilled who will not be thus happy in this world?

26. If a man, scalded all over, can find happiness by

smearing unguents on himself, then everyone must be happy.

27. A man is happy when embraced by his beloved; he

is unhappy in the same act under other circumstances.

28. Fatigue is certainly produced for everybody after

the flurry (or passion) of copulation, just as there is fatigue

for an animal carrying a load

29. Lord! How do you see that as happiness? Let this be

declared to me. As much as there is pleasure for you in the

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union with the beloved arising from the friction in the

nadis (nerves, arteries or veins), is it not the same for

dogs (having a similar union)? Tell me that.

30. If what is greater than that (above-mentioned

pleasure) is the one arising from the beauty (of the beloved)

seen (or enjoyed) by you, then, that is produced from mere

conceit (or fanciful notion), as it is in the union with a woman

in a dream.

31. Beauty is only a mental concept, as is evident

from the similar feeling in similar enjoyments of lovers

in dreams. (I shall tell you a story to illustrate the point.)

There was once a most handsome scion of a king —

fairer than Cupid himself.

32. He was wedded to an equally beautiful damsel

and was very devoted to her.

33. But she fell in love with a servant of the royal

household who deceived the young prince very skilfully.

34. This servant used to serve liquor in excess so that

the prince got drunk and lost his senses and, on retiring, a

wily harlot was sent to keep him company.

35-38. The unchaste princess and the servant were then

able to carry on; and the foolish prince was embracing the

other woman in his intoxication. Yet he thought within himself

that he was the happiest of men to have such an angel, who

was so devoted to him, for his wife. After a long time, it happened

that the servant in the pressure of work left the liquor

on the prince’s table and occupied himself otherwise.

Consequently, the prince did not drink as much as usual.

39-42. Becoming voluptuous, he hastily retired to

his bedroom, which was sumptuously furnished, and

enjoyed himself with the strumpet, without recognising

her in the heat of passion. After some time, he noticed

that she was not his wife and in this confusion asked her:

Where is my beloved wife?

43-48. She trembled in fear and remained silent. The

prince, who suspected foul play, flew into a rage and

holding her by her hair drew his sword and thus threatened

her: Speak the truth or your life will not be worth a

moment’s purchase. Afraid of being killed, she confessed

the whole truth, taking him to the trysting-place of the

princess. There he found her with her lovely and delicate

body in the close and loving embrace of the dark, ugly,

loathsome savage who was his servant….

51. The prince was shocked at the sight.

52. Shortly afterwards he pulled himself together and

began to reflect as follows: Shame on me who am so

addicted to drink!

53. Shame on the fools infatuated with love for

women. Women are like nothing but birds flitting above

the tree tops.

54. Ass that I was, all the time loving her even more

than life itself.

55. Women are only good for the enjoyment of

lecherous fools. He who loves them is a wild ass.

56. Women’s good faith is more fleeting than streaks

of autumnal clouds.

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57-59. I had not till now understood the woman,

who unfaithful to me, an entirely devoted husband, was

in illicit love with a savage, all the time feigning love to

me, like a prostitute to a lecherous fool.

60. I did not, in my drunkenness, suspect her in the

least; on the other hand, I believed that she was as much

with me as my own shadow.

61-64. Fie! Is there a fool worse than myself, who was

deceived by this ugly harlot at my side and enthralled by her

professions of love? Again, what has the other woman found

in preference to me in a loathsome brute?

65. The prince then left society in disgust and retired

into a forest. Hemalekha continued: So you see, O Prince,

how beauty is only a concept of the mind.

66. What pleasure you have in your apprehension of

beauty in me, is sometimes even exceeded by others in their

love of their dear ones — be they fair or ugly. I will tell you

what I think of it.

67. The fair woman that appears as the object is only

the reflection of the subtle concept already in the subjective

mind.

68-69. The mind draws an image of her beauty in

conformity with its own repeated conceptions. The

repeatedly drawn image becomes clearer and clearer until

it appears solidly as the object. An attraction springs up

(and enslaves the mind) by constant mental associations.

70. The mind, becoming restless, stirs up the senses

and seeks the fulfilment of its desires in the object; a

composed mind is not excited even at the sight of the

fairest.

71. The reason for the infatuation is the oft-repeated

mental picture. Neither children nor self-controlled yogis

are excited in the same way (because their minds do not

dwell on such things).

72. So whoever finds pleasure in anything, the beauty

therein is only mental imagery.

73. Ugly and loathsome women too are looked upon

as delightful angels by their husbands.

74. If the mind conceives anything as loathsome and

not delightful, there will be no pleasure in such.

75. Fie on human beings who appraise the foulest

part of the body as the most delightful.

76. If one should see beauty in that bodily part which

is wet with impure excretions, where would he not see

beauty? Tell me.

77. Listen Prince! The idea of beauty lies in one’s

own desire innate in the mind.

78. If, on the other hand, beauty is natural to the

object of love, why is it not recognised by children too, as

sweetness in edibles is recognised by them?

79-81. The form, the stature and complexion of

people, differ in different countries and at different times:

their ears may be long; their faces distorted; their teeth

large; their nose prominent; bodies hairy or smooth; their

hair red, black, or golden, light or thick, smooth or curly;

their complexions fair, dark, coppery, yellow or grey.

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82. All of them derive the same kind of pleasure as

you, Prince!

83. Even the most accomplished among men have

fallen into the habit of seeking pleasure from woman, for

all consider her the best hunting ground for delight.

84. Similarly also a man’s body is thought by women

to be the highest source of enjoyment. But consider the

matter well, Prince!

85-86. Shaped of fat and flesh, filled with blood,

topped by the head, covered by skin, ribbed by bones,

covered with hair, containing bile and phlegm, a pitcher

of faeces and urine, generated from semen and ovum,

and born from the opening from where urine is ejected

— such is the body. Just think of it!

87. Finding delight in such a thing, how are men

any better than worms growing in offal?

88. My King! Is not this body (pointing to herself )

dear to you? Think well over each part thereof.

89. Analyse well and carefully what it is that forms

your food materials with their different flavours, kinds

and consistencies?

90. Everyone knows how the consumed foods are

finally ejected from the body.

91. Such being the state of affairs in the world, tell

me what is agreeable or otherwise.

On hearing all this, Hemachuda developed disgust

for earthly pleasures.

92. He was amazed at the strange discourse he had

heard. He later pondered over all that Hemalekha had

said.

93. His disgust for earthly pleasures grew in volume

and in force. He again and again discussed matters with

his beloved so that he understood the ultimate truth.

94. Then realising the pure consciousness inhering

as the Self to be that selfsame Tripura, he became aware of

the One Self holding all, and was liberated.

95. He was liberated while yet alive. His brother

Manichuda and his father Muktachuda were both guided

by him and were also liberated.

96. The queen was guided by her daughter-in-law

and was liberated; so also did the ministers, chieftains

and citizens gain wisdom.

97. There was no one born in that city who remained

ignorant. The city was like that of Brahma, the abode of

happy, peaceful and contented people.

98. It was known as Visala and became the most

renowned on earth, where even the parrots in the cages

used to repeat: Meditate, O Man, on the Self, the Absolute

Consciousness devoid of objects! There is naught else to

know besides pure consciousness; it is like a self-luminous

mirror reflecting objects within.

100. That same consciousness is the subject and also

the objects, and that is all — the mobile and the immobile;

all else shine in its reflected light; it shines of itself.

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101. Therefore, O Man, throw off delusion! Think

of that consciousness which is alone, illuminating all and

pervading all. Be of clear vision.

102-103. Those holy saints Vamadeva and others

having on one occasion heard these sacred words of the

parrots, wondered at the wisdom of even the birds of that

city and named it the ‘City of Wisdom’.

104. The city is today still called by that name.

Dattatreya continued: Association with the Sages, O

Rama, is thus the root cause of all that is auspicious and

good.

105. By association with Hemalekha, all people gained

jnana (wisdom). Know then, that satsanga (association with

the wise) is alone the root cause of salvation.

Thus ends the Fourth Chapter on “The Fruits of

Satsanga” in the Section of Hemachuda in Tripura Rahasya.

_______

CHAPTER V

On Bondage and Release

1. Parasurama, on hearing the master’s discourse on the

greatness of satsanga, was highly pleased and continued to ask:

2. You have truly said, O Lord, that satsanga is the harbinger

of all that is worthy, and illustrated the fact with a story.

3. One’s enjoyments are determined by the quality

of one’s company. The highest good was accomplished by

all owing to their association, direct or indirect, with

Hemalekha, though she was only a woman.

4. I am anxious to hear how Hemachuda was further

guided by her. Please tell me, Thou Lord of Mercy!

5. Thus requested, Dattatreya said to Parasurama:

Listen, O Bhargava, I shall now continue the holy narrative.

6. Having heard what she had to say, the enjoyments

ceased to interest him, he developed a disgust for them, and

became pensive.

7. But the force of habit still remained with him. He

was therefore unable either to enjoy himself or to desist all of

a sudden.

8. He was however too proud to confess his weakness to

his beloved. Some time passed in this way.

9. When his habits forced him into the old ways he was

still mindful of his wife’s words, so that he engaged himself

in them with reluctance and shame.

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10-11. He repeatedly fell into his old ways by force

of habit; and very often he became repentant, realising

the evil of those ways and remembering his wife’s wise

words. His mind was thus moving to and fro, like a swing.

12. Neither delicious foods, nor fine clothes, nor rich

jewels, nor charming damsels, nor caparisoned horses, nor

even his dear friends continued to interest him.

13-14. He became sad as if he had lost his all. He was

unable to resist his habits at once nor was he willing to follow

them knowingly. He grew pale and melancholy.

15. Hemalekha, always aware of the change in him, went

to him in his private chamber and said: How is it, my Lord,

that you are not as cheerful as before?

16. You look sad. Why so? I do not see symptoms of any

particular ailment in you.

17. Doctors may hold out the fear of disease amidst the

pleasure of life; diseases are due to loss of harmony in the

three tempers of the body.

18. Diseases remain latent in all bodies because

disharmony of tempers cannot always be prevented.

19. Tempers get displaced by food consumed, clothes

worn, words uttered or heard, sights seen, objects contacted,

changes of seasons and travel in different countries.

20. Being inescapable, the dislocation of tempers need

not claim one’s constant attention. There are remedies

prescribed for diseases arising from it.

21. Medical science does not treat of invisible

diseases. Now tell me, dear, why you are so sad.

22. When Hemalekha had finished, the prince replied:

I will tell you the cause of my misery. Listen to me, dear.

23. What you said on the last occasion has barred all

means of pleasure for me, so that I can now find nothing to

make me happy.

24. Just as a man under orders to be executed cannot

relish the luxuries provided for him by the State, so also I do

not relish anything.

25. Just as a man is forced by royal command to do

something in spite of himself, so also must I engage in old

ways by force of habit. Now I ask you, dear, tell me how I

can gain happiness.

26. Being thus approached, Hemalekha thought: This

dispassion is certainly due to my words.

27-29 There is the seed of the highest good in that field

where such symptoms appear. Had my well-calculated words

not produced even the slightest turn in this direction, there

would be no hope of emancipating him. This state of dispassion

only arises in one with whose continued devotion to

Tripura, inherent in the Heart as the Self, is well pleased.

Thinking thus, that wise lady was eager to reveal wisdom

to her husband.

30. Keeping her own wisdom secret at the same time,

she spoke with measured words: Listen Prince to the story of

my own past.

31. Formerly, my mother gave me a lady-in-waiting who

was good by nature, but later associated with an undesirable

friend.

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32. This friend was clever in creating new and

wonderful things. I also without my mother’s knowledge

associated with her.

33. That lady-in-waiting became very friendly with

that undesirable companion, and I was obliged to do the

same because I loved my friend more than life.

34. For, I could not remain without her even for a

second; so much did she enthral me by her undoubted purity.

35. Always loving my friend, I quickly became part

of herself. She for her part was all the time close to her

friend, a wicked strumpet, who was ever generating new

and fascinating things.

36-38. In secret that woman introduced her son to

my friend. That son was an ignorant fool with eyes bloodshot

with drink. And my friend went on enjoying him in my

very presence. But she, though completely overpowered by

him and being enjoyed by him day after day, never left me,

and I, too, did not abandon her. And out of that union was

born a fool, of the same type as his father.

39-41. He grew up to be a very restless young fellow,

fully inheriting his father’s dullness and his grandmother’s

wickedness and creativeness. This boy, Master Inconstant

by name, was brought up and trained by his father, Mr.

Fool and his grandmother Madame Ignorance, and he

became skilled in their ways. He could negotiate the most

difficult places with perfect ease and surmount obstacles

in a trice.

42. In this manner, my friend, though very good by

nature, became afflicted and silly because of her association

with wicked people.

43-44. What with love for her friend, devotion for

her lover, and affection for her son, she began gradually to

forsake me. But I could not break with her so easily.

45-46. Not being self-reliant, I was dependent on

her and so remained with her. Her husband, Mr. Fool,

though always in enjoyment of her, mistook me for one

of the same sort and tried to ravish me. But I was not

what he took me to be. I am pure by nature and only led

by her, for the time being.

47. Even so, there was widespread scandal about me

in the world, that I was always in Mr. Fool’s hold.

48. My friend, entrusting her son Master Inconstant

to me, was always in the company of her lover.

49. Mr. Inconstant grew up in my care and in due

course married a wife with his mother’s approval.

50. Unsteady by name, she was ever restless and

changeful and could put on different forms to please her

husband’s whim.

51. By her wonderful capacity to change and by her

exceeding skill and cleverness, she brought her husband

completely under her control.

52. Mr. Inconstant, too, used to fly hundreds of miles

in a twinkling of an eye and return, go here, there and

everywhere, but yet could find no rest.

53-54. Whenever Mr. Inconstant wished to go

anywhere and whatever he wanted to have in any measure,

Madame Unsteady was ready to meet his desires, changing

herself accordingly and creating new environments to

please her husband. She thus won his affections entirely.

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55. She bore him five sons who were devoted to

their parents. Each one was skilled in his own way. They

were also entrusted to my care by my friend.

56-61. Out of love for my friend, I brought them up

with care, and made them strong. Then those five sons of

Madam Unsteady individually erected splendid palaces,

invited their father to their homes and entertained him

continually in turns. The eldest of them entertained him in

his mansion with different kinds of sweet music, with

incantations of the Vedas, the reading of scriptures, the

humming sounds of bees, the twittering of birds and other

sounds sweet to hear.

62-64. The father was pleased with the son, who

arranged for still further sounds for him which were harsh,

fearful and tumultuous like the roar of the lion, the peal of

thunder, the raging of the sea, the rumblings of earthquakes,

the cries from lying-in-chambers, and the quarrels, moans

and lamentations of many people.

65-67. Invited by his second son, the father went to

stay in his mansion. There he found soft seats, downy beds,

fine clothes and some hard things; others hot or warm or

cold, or refreshing things with various designs, and so on.

He was pleased with the agreeable things and felt aversion

to the disagreeable ones.

68. Then going to the third son, he saw charming

and variegated scenes, things red, white, brown, blue,

yellow, pink, smoky-grey, tawny, red-brown, black and

spotted, others fat or lean, short or long, broad or round,

bent or wavy, pleasing or horrible, nauseous, brilliant or

savage, unsightly or captivating, some pleasing and others

otherwise.

72. The father was taken to the fourth son’s mansion

and there he had fruits and flowers to order. He had drinks,

things to be licked, to be sucked, and to be masticated; juicy

things, some refreshing like nectar, others sweet, sour, pungent

or astringent, some decoctions of similar flavours, and

so on. He tasted them all.

76-79. The last son took the father to his home and

treated him with fruits and flowers, with various scented

grasses, herbs and things of different odours, sweet or putrescent,

mild or acrid; others stimulating or soporific and so on.

In this manner, he enjoyed himself uninterruptedly, one

way or another, in one mansion or another, being pleased

with some and repulsed by others.

80. The sons too were so devoted to their father that

they would not touch anything themselves in his absence.

81. But Mr. Inconstant not only enjoyed himself

thoroughly in his sons’ mansions, but also stole away things

from them and shared them in secret with his dear wife,

Madam Unsteady, in his own home, unknown to his sons.

83. Later, one Madam Vorax1 fell in love with Mr. Inconstant

and he wedded her; they became very devoted to each

other, Mr. Inconstant loved Madam Vorax heart and soul.

84-87. He used to fetch enormous provisions for her,

she consumed them all in a moment and was still hungry

1 Vorax: a voracious eater

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for more; therefore she kept her husband always on his legs,

to collect her food; and also, he was incessantly in quest of

more provisions for her. She was not satisfied with the

service of the father and his five sons put together, but

wanted still more. Such was her insatiable hunger. She used

to order all of them about for her needs. In a short time she

gave birth to two sons.

88. They were Master Flaming-mouth the elder and

Master Mean the younger — both of course very dear to

their mother.

89-91. Whenever Mr. Inconstant sought Madam Vorax

in privacy, his body was burnt by the wrathful flames of

Master Flaming-mouth; being thus afflicted, he fell down

unconscious.

Again, whenever he fondled the younger son out of his

love, he was hated by all the world and he himself became as

if dead. Mr. Inconstant thus experienced untold misery.

92. Then my companion, good by nature, was herself

afflicted because of her son Mr. Inconstant’s grief.

93-95. Being also associated with her two grandsons,

Master Flaming-mouth and Master Mean, she became quite

miserable and gave way under the public odium. I too, dear,

collapsed in sympathy with her. Thus passed several years

until Mr. Inconstant dominated by Madam Vorax lost all

initiative and was entirely in her hands.

96-107. He was foredoomed and betook himself to

the city of ten gates. There he lived with Madam Vorax,

his sons and his mother, always seeking pleasure but only

sharing misery day and night. Burnt by the wrath of

Flaming-mouth and treated with contempt by Master

Mean, he swung hither and thither greatly agitated. He

went into the homes of his other five sons but was only

perplexed, without being happy. My companion too was

so affected by her son’s plight that she again collapsed,

and yet she continued to live in the same city. Madam

Vorax with her two boys Masters Flaming-mouth and Mean

was being fed by Madam Ignorance — her husband’s

grandmother, and by Mr. Fool, her father-in-law. She got

on well with her co-wife Madam Unsteady and was even

intimate with her. (Ingratiating herself with all of them),

she completely dominated her husband Mr. Inconstant.

I too continued to live there because of my love for

my friend. Otherwise, none of them could remain in the

town without me who was their protectress, though I was

moribund owing to my friend’s moribundity.

I was sometimes suppressed by Madam Ignorance, was

made a fool of by Mr. Fool, became inconstant on account of

Mr. Inconstant, grew unsteady with Madam Unsteady, incurred

the wrath of Flaming-mouth and the contempt of

Master Mean. I reflected within myself all the moods of my

friend, for she would have died if I had left her for even a

minute. Because of my company, the common people always

misjudged me for a strumpet, whereas discriminating men

could see that I have always remained pure.

108-111. For that Supreme Good One, my mother,

is ever pure and clear, more extensive than space and

subtler than the subtlest; she is omniscient, yet of limited

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knowledge; she does all works, yet remains inactive; she

holds up all, herself being unsupported; all depend on her,

yet she is independent; all forms are hers, but she is

formless; all belong to her, but she is unattached; though

illumining all, she is not known to anyone under any

circumstances; she is bliss, yet not blissful; she has no father

nor mother; innumerable are her daughters, like me.

112-113. My sisters are as many as the waves on the

sea. All of them, O Prince, are just like me involved in

their companions’ affairs. Though sharing the lives of my

friends, I am in possession of the most potent spell, by

virtue of which I am also exactly like my mother in nature.

114. (The tale is resumed.)

115. When my friend’s son retired to rest, he always

slept soundly on the lap of his mother; as Mr. Inconstant

was asleep, all others, including his sons, were also asleep,

for no one could remain awake.

116. On such occasions, the city was guarded by Mr.

Motion, the intimate friend of Mr. Inconstant, who was

always moving to and fro by two upper gateways.

117. My friend, the mother of Mr. Inconstant, along

with him and her wicked friend — the same was her

mother-in-law — watched the whole sleeping family.

118. I used to seek my mother in that interval and remain

blissful in her fond embrace. But I was obliged to return to the

city simultaneously with the waking of the sleepers.

119: This Mr. Motion, the friend of Mr. Inconstant, is

most powerful and keeps them all alive.

120-121. Though single, he multiplies himself, manifests

as the city and citizens, pervades them all, protects

and holds them.

122. Without him, they would all be scattered and

lost like pearls without the string of the necklace.

123. He is the bond between the inmates and myself;

empowered by me, he serves in the city as the string in a necklace.

123. If that city decays, he collects the inmates

together, leads them to another and remains their master.

125-131. In this way Mr. Inconstant rules over cities

always, he himself remaining under the sway of his friend.

Though supported by such a powerful friend, though born

of such a virtuous mother and brought up by me, he is

never otherwise than miserable, because he is tossed about

by his two wives and several sons. He is torn asunder by

his sons and finds not the least pleasure but only intense

misery. Tempted by Madam Unsteady, he grieves; ordered

about by Madam Vorax, he runs about in search of food

for her; stricken by Flaming-mouth he burns with rage,

loses his sense and is baffled; approaching Master Mean,

he is openly despised and reviled by others and becomes

as one dead under the shame of odium.

132-134. Already of disreputable heredity, and now

infatuated by love for, and tossed about by his wicked

wives and sons, he has been living with them in all kinds

of places, good and bad, in forests with woods or thorny

bushes and infested with wild beasts, in deserts burning

hot, in icy tracts pierced by cold, in putrid ditches or in

dark holes and so on.

Chapter V  

135. Again and again my friend was stricken with

grief on account of her son’s calamities and nearly died

with sorrow.

136. I too, though sane and clear by nature, dear, got

involved in the affairs of her family and became sad also.

137. Who can hope for even the least happiness in bad

company? One may as well seek to quench one’s thirst by

drinking water from a mirage.

138. Engulfed in sorrow, my friend once sought me in

private.

139. Advised by me, she soon gained a good husband,

killed her own son and imprisoned his sons.

140. Then accompanied by me, she quickly gained my

mother’s presence, and being pure, she often embraced my

mother.

141. She at once dived in the sea of Bliss and became

Bliss itself. In the same manner, you too can conquer your

wrong ways which are only accretions.

142. Then, my Lord, attain the Mother and gain eternal

happiness. I have now related to you, my Lord, my own

experience of the pedestal of Bliss.

Thus ends the Chapter on “Bondage” in the Section

of Hemachuda in Tripura Rahasya.*

_______

* See Chapter VIII and Appendix I for further elucidation of this

parable.

CHAPTER VI

On the Merits of Faith for Gaining the Goal

and on the Harmfulness of Dry Polemics

Sraddhaa Sreyah Su Saadhavah

1. Hemachuda was astonished at the fantastic tale of

his beloved. Being ignorant, he smiled derisively at the tale

and asked that wise princess:

2. My dear, what you have been saying seems to be

nothing but invention. Your words have no relation to facts

and are altogether meaningless.

3. You are certainly the daughter of an Apsaras (celestial

damsel), and brought up by Rishi Vyagrapada in the forest;

you are still young and not yet fully grown.

4. But you talk as if you were several generations old.

Your long-winded speech is like that of a girl possessed and

not in her senses.

5. I cannot believe that rigmarole. Tell me where your

companion is and who is the son she killed.

6. Where are those cities? What is the significance of

your story? Where is your friend?

7. I know nothing of your lady-in-waiting. You may ask

my mother if you like. There is no other lady besides your

mother-in-law in my father’s place.

8. Tell me quickly where such a lady is to be found

and where her son’s sons are. I think your tale is a myth

like the tale of a barren woman’s son.

9-11. A clown once related a story that a barren

woman’s son mounted a chariot reflected in a mirror and

decorated with silver taken from the sheen of mother-ofpearl,

armed himself with weapons made of human horn,

fought in the battlefield of the sky, killed the future king,

subdued the city of aerial hosts and enjoyed himself with

dream maidens on the banks of the waters of a mirage.

12. I take your words to mean something similar.

They can never be the truth. After listening to the words

of her lover, the wise girl continued:

13. Lord, how can you say that my parable is meaningless?

Words from the lips of those like me can never be

nonsense.

14. Falsehood undermines the effects of one’s penance;

so how can it be suspected in virtuous people? How can

such a one be stainless and numbered among the Sages?

15. Moreover, one who entertains an earnest seeker

with hollow or false words, will not prosper in this world

nor advance in the next.

16. Listen, Prince. A purblind man cannot have his

eyesight restored by merely hearing the prescription read.

17. He is a fool who misjudges good precepts for

falsehood. Do you think, my dear, that I, your wife, would

deceive you with a myth when you are so much in earnest?

18-19. Reason well and carefully examine these

suspected untruths of mine. Is not an intelligent man

accustomed to judge big things in the world by verifying

a few details in them? I now present to you my credentials.

20. Some things used to please you before. Why did

they cease to do so, after you heard me on the last occasion?

21. My words brought about dispassion; they are

similarly bound to do so even more in the future. How else

can it be? Judge your own statements from these facts.

22. Listen to me, king, with an unsophisticated and clear

intellect. Mistrust in a well-wisher’s words is the surest way

to ruin.

23. Faith is like a fond mother who can never fail to

save her trusting son from dangerous situations. There is no

doubt about it.

24. The fool who has no faith in his well-wisher’s words

is forsaken by prosperity, happiness and fame. A man who is

always suspicious can never gain anything worthwhile.

25. Confidence holds the world and nourishes all. How

can a babe thrive if it has no confidence in its mother?

26. How can a lover gain pleasure if he does not trust

his beloved? Similarly, how is the aged parent to be happy

who has no confidence in his sons?

27. Would the husbandman till the land if he had no

confidence? Mutual distrust will put an end to all transactions.

28. How can humanity exist without universal

confidence? If you should say, on the other hand, that it is

the law of cause and effect, I will tell you; listen to me.

Chapter VI  

29. People believe in the law that such a cause

produces such a result. Is that not faith?

30. So then, a man will not dare to breathe in the

absence of Sraddha (faith) for fear of pathogenic infection,

and consequently perish. Therefore believe before you

aspire for supreme beatitude.

31. If again, Prince, you hesitate to depend on an

incompetent person, as you may think me to be, that is

because you believe that a certain end must be accomplished.

32. How else can the desired end be approached?

Hearing his beloved’s arguments, Hemachuda said to

the fair speaker:

33. If faith should be placed in anyone, my dear, it should

certainly be placed on those worthy of it, in order that one’s

ends may be served.

34-35. He who is bent on the highest good should never

trust an incompetent person. Otherwise, he comes to grief,

like a fish attracted by the tempting bait at the end of a fishing

line. Therefore, faith can only be put in the worthy and not

in the unworthy.

36. Fishes and all those men who have ruined themselves

in the one way and prospered in the other, can verify

my statement.

37. I can only believe you therefore after full ascertainment

of your worth; not otherwise. Why then do you ask me if the

desired end can be approached? (Vide sloka 32, ante.)

38. After hearing him, Hemalekha replied: Listen,

Prince, to what I am going to say now.

39. I answer your point. How is one to judge whether

one is good or bad?

40. Is it by reference to accepted standards? What is

the authority behind such standards? Are the authors themselves

worthy or unworthy? In this way, there will be no

end to argument.

41. Moreover, the observer’s competence must be

taken into account. (Thus, too, there will be no finality

reached.) Therefore life moves by faith only.

42-45. I shall explain to you the rationale of reaching

the Supreme Goal by means of faith. Be attentive. People

will not gain anything, either during their lifetime or after

death, by endless discussions or blind acceptance. Of the

two, however, there is hope for the latter and there is none

for the former.

(The following anecdote illustrates the point.)

Once there lived a saint, by name Kausika, on the Sahya

Hill near the banks of the Godavari.

46. He was serene, pure, pious, having knowledge of

the Supreme Truth. Several disciples attended on him.

47. Once when the master had gone out, the disciples

started to discuss philosophy, according to their own lights.

48. There appeared on the scene a Brahmin of great

intellect and wide learning, Soonga by name, who successfully

refuted all their arguments by his skill in logic.

49-50. He was a man without faith and without

conviction, but an able debater. When they said that the

truth must be ascertained by reference to some standard,

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he argued on the basis of an unending series of standards

and refuted them.

51-55. He rounded off his speech with the following:

Listen, you Brahmins, standards are not applicable for

ascertaining merits or demerits and so arriving at the truth.

For erroneous standards are no good as tests. To start

with, their correctness must be established. Other

standards are required to check them. Are they in their

turn infallible? Proceeding in this way, no finality can be

reached. Therefore no tests are possible. Ascertainment

of Truth being impossible without being tested, nothing

can therefore be Truth. This enunciation itself cannot be

true, nor the enunciator either. What then is the decision

arrived at? That all are nothing, void. This too cannot be

supported by reliable facts; hence, the statement that all

are void ends in void also.

56. Hearing his discourse, some of them were

impressed by the force of Soonga’s logic and became

scholiasts of the void.

57-60. They got lost in the maze of their philosophy.

The discriminating ones among the hearers placed

Soonga’s arguments before their master and were

enlightened by him. Thus they gained peace and

happiness. Therefore, beware of arid polemics parading

as logic. Use it in the manner in which the holy books

have done. That way lies salvation. Thus addressed by

that eminently wise wife, Hemachuda was greatly

astonished and said: My dear, I did not realise your wisdom

earlier.

61. Blessed are you that you are so wise! Blessed am

I that I have your company. You say that faith bestows the

highest good. How does it do so?

62-63. Where is faith expedient, and where not? The

scriptures differ in their teachings; the teachers differ

among themselves; the commentaries similarly differ from

one another; to add to this, one’s reasoning is no guide.

Which of them is to be followed and which rejected?

64. Each one stamps his own views with the seal of

authority and condemns the rest, not only as worthless but

also as harmful, my dear!

65. That being the case, I cannot decide for myself. What

you condemned as the school of the void turns round on

others and attacks them.

66. Why should not that school be respected? It has its

own adherents and its own system of philosophy. Explain to

me, dear, all these things clearly. They must indeed be already

clear to you.

Thus ends the Chapter VI on “Sraddha” (Faith) in the

Hemachuda Section in Tripura Rahasya.

_______

CHAPTER VII

That the Goal is Gained only After

Ascertaining God by Faith, Effort, Approved

Logic and Devotion to Him

When Hemalekha was thus asked by her husband, she

with her saintly practical knowledge of the state of the

universe, spoke to him with increased kindness:

2-5. Dearest, listen to me attentively. What is known as

the mind is, after all, always like a restless monkey. So the

ordinary man is always afflicted with troubles. Everybody

knows that a restless mind is the channel of endless troubles;

whereas one is happy in sleep in the absence of such restlessness.

Therefore keep your mind steady when you listen

to what I say. Hearing with a distracted mind is as good as

not hearing, for the words serve no useful purpose, resembling

the fruit-laden tree seen in a painting.

6. Man is quickly benefited if he turns away from dry,

ruinous logic and engages in purposeful discussion.

7. Appropriate effort must follow right discussion; for a

man profits according to the zeal accompanying his efforts.

8. You find, my dear, that aimless discussions are fruitless

and that earnest efforts are fruitful in the world.

9. Discriminating zeal is what enables the husbandman

to plough the field in season and the assayer to assay the worth

of gold, silver, precious stones, medicinal herbs and the rest.

No practical work will be done if people spend all their

lives in vain discussions alone. Therefore, one should

discard aimless talk and begin immediately to accomplish

the highest aim of life as ascertained by appropriate sincere

discussion. Nor should one refrain from individual effort,

as is the wont of the followers of Soonga.

12. A man who is in earnest need never be at a loss;

will sustained effort ever fail in its purpose?

13. Men earn their food, gods their nectar, pious

ascetics the highest beatitude and others their desires, by

individual exertion alone.

14. Think well and tell me where, when, how and

what profit was ever gained by any man, who, without

engaging in action, was taken up with dry polemics.

15. If some stray cases of failure should make one

lose faith in individual exertion, he certainly accursed of

God, because he is his own ruin.

16. Guided by proper deliberation, accompanied by

zeal and engaged in individual efforts, one must make one’s

own unfailing way to emancipation.

17. There are said to be many ways to that end. Choose

that one among them which is the surest.

18. Choice is made by right discussion and according

to the experience of the wise. Then begin the practice

immediately. I shall now explain it in detail. Attend.

19. That is best which does not again yoke you to

suffering. To a discriminating man, pain is apparent in all

aspects of life.

Chapter VII  

20-22. Whatever has the impress of misery on it

cannot be good. Such are wealth, children, wife, kingdom,

treasury, army, fame, learning, intellect, body, beauty and

prosperity. For they are all transient and already in the

jaws of death, otherwise called time.

23. Can that be good which is only the seed ready to

sprout as pain and grow into misery?

24. The right means lies beyond these. However, the

desire to possess them is born of delusion. The Master

Wizard is Mahesvara. He being the creator of the universe,

all are deluded by Him.

25-30. Even a juggler of limited powers is able to

deceive his audience, although only to a limited degree.

The magic cannot be seen through without reference to

him. Of course, the whole audience will not be deluded

by him, but who can escape the illusion of Mahadeva?

Just as there are a few who know how to see through

the illusory tricks of the juggler and are not mystified by

him, so also men can learn to overcome the universal

Maya (illusion) if only the Lord is gracious to them. They

can never escape from Maya, without His grace.

Therefore he should be worshipped by those who are

anxious to cross the Ocean of Maya.

31. He with whom God is graciously pleased is

endowed with Mahavidya, the supreme knowledge by means

of which his crossing of the Ocean of Maya is certain.

32. Other methods are also put forward as serving

this supreme end, but they are bound to fail in their

purpose if the Lord’s grace be not forthcoming.

33. Therefore worship the Primal Cause of the

universe as the starting point; be devoted to Him; He

will soon enable you to succeed in your attempts to destroy

the illusion.

34. Clearly the universe must have some origin.

35. Although the origin is shrouded in mystery, let

us investigate the cause from the visible effect and be

guided by the holy scriptures; and then the conclusion

will be reached that there is a Creator in no way comparable

to any known agents.

36. Contentious statements to the contrary have been

logically refuted by many authoritative scriptural texts.

37. That system which admits only sensory evidence is

merely an apology for philosophy and leads nowhere.

Salvation is not its end but damnation is its fruit.

38-40. Dry logic also must be condemned. Another

system declares that the universe is eternal, without beginning

or end. It follows that the universe and its phenomena are

self-existent; thus lifeless insentient matter is its own agent

and keeper, which is absurd, because action implies intelligence

and no example can be cited to the contrary.

Scriptures also say that the Primal Cause is an intelligent

principle, and we know that action always originates from

an intelligent source alone.

41-43. The world is thus traced to its Creator who differs

entirely from any agent known to us. Judging from the

magnitude of the creation, His power must be immeasurable

in the same proportion as the unimaginable vastness of

Chapter VII  

the creation. Such a one must also be able to protect and

elevate His own creatures. Surrender therefore unreservedly

unto Him.

44-50. I shall adduce an example as a proof of this.

We find in everyday life that a chief, if pleased, even though

his means are limited, always ensures the prospects of the

man who is sincerely devoted to him.

If the Lord of the world be pleased, will anything be

withheld from the devotee? Tell me. He is the only solace of

the devotees whereas the chiefs are many in the world and

not necessarily kind; maybe they are cruel and ungrateful

also. Their patronage is also wavering and short-lived. The

Supreme Lord has infinite mercy for His devotees, is most

grateful and has unlimited powers. Otherwise, would people

continue to worship Him from untold ages? Kingdoms not

well ordered are known to disintegrate (but this universe

continues as ever). Therefore this Lord of mercy is well

established and also rightly famed.

Surrender yourself directly and unhesitatingly to Him.

He will ordain the best for you and you need not ask for it.

51-59. Among the methods of approach to God, there

are (1) worship to overcome troubles, (2) worship to gain

wealth, etc., and (3) loving dedication of oneself. The last

one is the best and surest in its results.

In practical life too, a chief entreated by a man in

trouble duly affords him relief. The man is however not

helped if he has not shown proper attention to the patron.

So also the service born of ambition, bears indeterminate

and limited fruits according to its intensity. Devoted

service with no ulterior motive takes a long time to be

recognised; yet it makes even the petty chief amiable. A

human master may take long to recognise unselfish work;

but God, the Lord of the Universe, the Dweller in our

hearts, knows everything and soon bestows appropriate

fruits. In the case of other kinds of devotees, God has to

await the course of destiny — that being His own

ordainment; whereas for the selfless devotee, God, the

Lord and the sole refuge, is all in all and takes care of him

without reference to the devotee’s predestiny or His own

ordained laws. He compensates the devotee quickly, and

that is because He is supreme and self-contained without

depending on anything else.

60-61. Predestiny or divine will is powerless before

Him. Everyone knows how He set aside predestiny and

divine laws in the case of His famous devotee,

Markandeya. I will explain to you now the fitness of this.

Listen, my dearest!

[Note: A Rishi, Mrikandu by name, who was childless,

pleased Siva by his penance. When Siva appeared to him,

he prayed that a son might be born to him. Siva asked

him if he wished to have a dull boy long-lived, or a bright

boy short-lived. Mrikandu preferred the latter. So Siva

said ‘You will have a very brilliant son; but he will only

live for sixteen years’. Accordingly a son was born who

was very good and dutiful, and most intelligent and pious,

charming all who saw him. The parents were delighted

with him but grew sad as he grew up. He asked them the

Chapter VII  

reason for their sadness and they told him of Siva’s boon.

He said, ‘Never mind. I will see’, and took to penance.

Siva was pleased with his intense devotion and ordained

that he should remain sixteen years of age for all eternity.]

62. The current notion that one cannot escape one’s

destiny is applicable only to weak-minded and senseless

wastrels.

63. Yogis who practise control of breath conquer fate.

Even fate cannot impose its fruits on yogis.

64-66. Destiny seizes and holds only senseless people.

Conforming to and following nature, destiny forms part of

nature. Nature again is only the contrivance for enforcing

God’s will. His purpose is always sure and cannot be prevented.

Its edge can, however, be blunted by devotion to

Him and if it is not so blunted, the predisposing cause must

therefore be considered a most powerful factor in a man’s life.

67. Therefore, eschew high vanity and take refuge in

Him. He will spontaneously take you to the Highest State.

68. This is the first rung in the ladder to the pedestal of

Bliss. Nothing else is worthwhile.

69. (Dattatreya continued) O Parasurama, hearing this

speech of his wife, Hemachuda was delighted and continued

to ask her questions:

70. Tell me, dear, who is this God, the Creator, the Selfcontained

One and the Ordainer of the universe to whom I

should consecrate myself.

71-72. Some say He is Vishnu, others Siva, Ganesa,

the Sun, Narasimha or other similar avatars; others say

Buddha or Arhat; still others Vasudeva, the life-principle,

the Moon, Fire, Karma, Nature, Primordial Nature and

what not.

73. Each sect gives a different origin for the universe.

Tell me which of them is true?

74. I verily believe that there is nothing unknown to

you because that famous and omniscient Sage Vyaghrapada

has been gracious to you, and profound wisdom shines in

you, though you are of the weaker sex. Please tell me out of

your love for me, O fair one, speaking words of eternal life!

75. Thus requested, Hemalekha spoke with pleasure:

Lord, I shall tell you the final Truth about God. Listen!

76-78. God is the All-Seer who generates, permeates,

sustains and destroys the universe. He is Siva, He is Vishnu,

He is Brahma, the Sun, the Moon, etc. He is the One whom

the different sects call their own; He is not Siva, nor Vishnu,

nor Brahma, nor any other exclusively.

79-93. I will tell you further. Heed me! To say, for

instance that the Primal Being is Siva with five faces and three

eyes, the Creator would in that case be like an ordinary potter

making pots, endowed with a body and brain. True, there is

no art found in the world, without a body and some intellect.

In fact, the creative faculty in men belongs to something

between the body and pure intelligence.

[Note: Body being insentient cannot act of its own

accord; nor can intellect do so without a tool.]

Therefore the mind operates apart from the gross body,

in dreams; being intelligent it creates an environment

Chapter VII  

suitable to its latent desires. This clearly indicates that the

body is only a tool for a purpose and the agent is intelligence.

Instruments are necessary for human agents because their

capacities are limited and they are not self-contained.

Whereas the Creator of the universe is perfect in Himself

and creates the whole universe without any external aid.

This leads to the important conclusion that God has no

body. Otherwise, He would be reduced to a glorified human

being, requiring innumerable accessories for work and

influenced by seasons and environments, in no way different

from a creature, and not the Lord. Moreover, preexistence

of accessories would quash His unique mastery and imply

limits to His powers of creation. This is absurd, as being

contrary to the original premises. Therefore, He has no

body nor the other aids, yet He still creates the world, O

Lord of my life! Fools are taken in by the notion of giving

a body to the transcendental Being. Still, if devotees worship

and contemplate Him with a body according to their own

inclinations, He shows them grace, assuming such a body.

For He is unique and fulfils the desires of His devotees.

Nevertheless, the conclusion must be reached that He is

pure intelligence and His consciousness is absolute and

transcendental. Such is the consciousness-intelligence in purity,

Absolute Being, the One Queen, Parameswari (Transcendental

Goddess), overwhelming the three states and hence called

Tripura. Though She is the undivided whole, the universe

manifests in all its variety in Her, being reflected as it were,

in a self-luminous mirror. The reflection cannot be apart

from the mirror and is therefore one with it. Such being the

case, there cannot be difference in degrees (e.g., Siva, or

Vishnu being superior to each other). Bodies are mere

conceptions in the lower order of beings and they are

not to the point in the case of God. Therefore, be wise,

and worship the one pure, unblemished Transcendence.

94. If unable to comprehend this pure state, one

should worship God in the concrete form which is most

agreeable to Him; in this way, too, one is sure to reach

the goal, though gradually.

95. Though one attempted it in millions of births,

one would not advance except in one of these two ways.

Thus ends the Chapter on “The Nature of God” in

the Section of Hemachuda in Tripura Rahasya.

 

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

(My humble salutations H H   Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi

and Humble salutations  H H to  SWAMI SRI RAMANANANDA SARASWATHI  for the collection)