Vasishtasangrah sarga 22 Vidhanaprashnah - The question on the method

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

Vasishta uvaacha

aabhaasamaatramevedam ittham samprati bhaasate |
ayamnaamaa'hamityantah asadeva shareerakam || 1 ||

Vasishta said:

This[1] is only an appearance that now is superimposed.  The body which
carries the notion "I am the person with this name" is really
non-existent. (1)

sukhatalpagato yena swapnadehena diktataan |
paribhramasi he rama sa dehah te kva samsthitah || 2 ||

Oh Rama! Sleeping in a comfortable bed you wander about the directions
with a dream-body.  Where is that body of yours located? (2)

jagaraayaam manoraajye yena swaragapurantram |
paribhramasi meroom va sa dehah te kva samsthitah || 3 ||

When waking, with your imagination you wander about in the city of Heaven[2]
or on Mount Meru[3]  Where is that body of yours located? (3)

deerghaswapnam imam viddhi deergham va chittavibhramam |
deergham va'pi manorajyam samsaram raghunandana || 4 ||

Oh Raghunandan! Understand this samsara to be a long dream, or a long
delusion of the mind, or a long figment of your imagination. (4)

param paurushhamaasthaaya balam prajnaam cha yuktitah |
naarbhim samsarachakrasya chittameva nirodhayet || 5 ||

Using the best of human effort, strength, and intelligence, control the
mind which is the axle of the wheel of samsara. (5)

Prajnaasaujanyayuktena shaastrasamvalitena cha |
paurushena na yat praptam na tat kvachana labhyate || 6 ||

That which is not obtained by intelligence and good behavior accompanied
by the shastras is not obtained anywhere[4]. (6)

Chittayakshadrdhaakraantam na shaastraani na baandhavaah |
shaknuvanti paritraatum guravo na cha maanavam || 7 ||

A man  who has been posessed by the yaksha[5] of the mind cannot  be saved
even by shastras, or Gurus or family[6][7]. (7)

Samshaantachittavetaalam gurushaastraarthabaandhavah |
shaknuvanti samurddhartum svalpapankaat mrgam yatha || 8 ||

The person whose mind-vetala[8] has been stilled can be saved just a deer
could be saved from a little quicksand[9]. (8)

atremaam aparaam drshtim mahamohavinashineem |
shrnu ya kathita poorvam mahyam ardhendumaulina || 9 ||

In this regard, hear the knowledge which destroys great delusion which was
previously told to me by Ardhendumauli[10].

(To be continued...)

[1] wordly existence.

[2] Amaravati is the city of Indta in heaven which contains magnificent
buildings and gardens.  Miraculous things such as the wish-fulfilling
Parijata tree and the wish-fulfilling cow, Kamadhenu are located there.

[3] Mt. Meru is at the center of the Earth.  Later when Indians discovered
the world was round, it was equated with the Earths' axis,  Sumeru being
the North pole and Kumeru the South pole.

[4] This shloka sets forth the necessary means for obtaining the highest
goal.

1.  Intelligence -- to know the difference between real and unreal.
2.  Good behavior -- that leads towards the real and away from the unreal
3.  Knowledge of the shastras -- which explain what is real and unreal.

[5] A yaksha is a type of divine being.  They are not evil but like the
hobgoblins or leprechauns of Western folk tales, they use their powers
capricously and often cause trouble for mortals who deal with them.  They
are also said to posess people.  The mind is being compared to a
capricious yaksha.

[6] The word baandhavah means friends and family but I think what is being
meant is ones ancestors because the idea is that we get punya from the
deeds of our ancestors.  (That's why we do shraddha for them etc.)

[7] The meaning of this shloka is that even the influence of teachers,
shastras, or family (or ancestors if you take my interpretation) will be
for nothing if one doesn't have self-control.

[8] A vetal is a vampire.  Just as a vampire cannot survive except by
feeding off a living person, the mind depends on all the sensations it
gets from the body for its' sustenance.

[9] When a deer (or for that matter a person) gets caught in quicksand,
the first impulse is to struggle and kick about.  But this just causes one
to sink faster.  If however one remains still it is possible to remain
near the top where you can grab hold of something or someone can rescue
you.

[10] Shiva Bhagawan who wears the crescent moon as a crown.


-- Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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