[Chaturamnaya] Yoga Vasishtha Sara - The Essence of the Yoga Vasishtha - CHAPTER I (DISPASSION)

[AMY ZOLL]

Thank you!

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 4, 2022, at 11:39 AM, 'S Jayanarayanan' via California - SF Bay Area Ramana Maharshi Satsang <virupaaksha at googlegroups.com> wrote:
> 
> ( Mountain Path Article Series 1969-71
> https://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/resource_centre/publications/mountain-path/ )
>  
>  
> In the January 1968 issue of The Mountain Path we published an article on
> Yoga Vasishta and promised to serialise a condensed version of it at a future date.
> We publish below the first chapter of one of the condensed versions known as the
> Yoga Vasishta Sara (The Essence of Yoga Vasishta). The remaining chapters will
> be published in the subsequent issues. The translation was made by SWAMI SURESANANDA
> of Vijnana Ramaneeyam, Palghat, but has been considerably modified.
>  
> 
> 
> CHAPTER I: DISPASSION
>  
> 1. Salutations to that calm effulgence which
> is endless and unlimited by space, time etc.,
> the pure consciousness which can be known
> by experience only.
>  
> 2. Neither one who is totally ignorant nor
> one who knows it (Truth) is eligible to study
> this book. Only he who thinks 'I am bound ;
> I must become free' is entitled to study it.
>  
> 3. Until one is definitely blessed by the
> Supreme Lord he will not find either a proper
> Guru or the right scripture.
>  
> 4. Just as a steady boat, O Rama, is
> obtained from a boatman, so also the method
> of crossing the ocean of samsara is learnt by
> associating with great souls.
>  
> 5. The great remedy for the long-lasting
> disease of samsara is the enquiry, 'Who am
> I ?, To whom does this samsara belong ?',
> which entirely cures it.
>  
> 6. Not a day should be spent in a place
> which does not possess the tree of a wise
> knower of Truth with its good fruits and cool
> shade.
>  
> 7. The sages are to be approached even if
> they do not teach. Even their talks in a light
> vein contain wisdom.
>  
> 8. The company of sages converts emptiness
> into fullness, death into immortality and
> adversity into prosperity.
>  
> 9. If sages were concerned solely with their
> own happiness with whom could those tormented
> by the sorrows of samsara seek
> refuge?
>  
> 10. That which is imparted, O good soul,
> to a worthy disciple who has become dispassionate
> is the real wisdom ; it is the real
> purport of the sacred texts and is also the
> comprehensive wisdom.
>  
> 11. Following the customary method of
> teaching is only for preserving the tradition.
> Pure awareness results solely from the clarity
> of the disciple's understanding.
>  
> 12. The Lord cannot be seen with the help
> of the sacred texts or the Guru. The Self is
> seen by the Self alone with the pure intellect.
>  
> 13. All the arts acquired by men are lost
> by lack of practice, but this art of wisdom
> grows steadily once it rises.
>  
> 14. Just as an ornament worn round the
> neck is considered lost through forgetfulness
> and is gained when the mistake is realized,
> so also the Self is attained (when the delusion
> is removed) by the words of the Guru.
>  
> 15. He is indeed an unfortunate person
> who, not knowing his own Self, takes pleasure
> in sense-objects, like one who realizes too
> late that the food eaten by him was poisonous.
>  
> 16. That perverted man who, even after
> knowing that worldly objects are deceptive,
> still thinks of them, is an ass, not a man.
>  
> 17. Even the slightest thought immerses a
> man in sorrow ; when devoid of all thoughts
> he enjoys imperishable bliss.
>  
> 18. Just as we experience the delusion of
> hundreds of years in a dream lasting an hour,
> so also we experience the sport of maya in
> our waking state.
>  
> 19. He is a happy man whose mind is
> inwardly cool and free from attachment and
> hatred and who looks upon this (world) like
> a mere spectator.
>  
> 20. He who has understood well how to
> abandon all ideas of acceptance and rejection
> and who has realized the consciousness which
> is within the innermost heart — his life is
> illustrious.
>  
> 21. On the dissolution of the body the
> ether (consciousness) limited by the heart
> (hrdayam) alone ceases to exist. People
> lament needlessly that the Self is extinct.
>  
> 22. When pots, etc. are broken the space
> within them becomes unlimited. So also
> when bodies cease to exist the Self remains
> eternal and unattached.
>  
> 23. Nothing whatever is born or dies anywhere
> at any time. It is Brahman alone
> appearing illusorily in the form of the world.
>  
> 24. The Self is more extensive than space ;
> it is pure, subtle, undecaying and auspicious.
> As such how could it be born and how can
> it die?
>  
> 25. All this is the tranquil One without
> beginning, middle or end which cannot be
> said to be existent or non-existent. Know
> this and be happy.
>  
> 26. O Rama, it is indeed nobler to wander
> begging about the streets of the outcasts
> (chandalas), an earthen bowl in hand, than
> to live a life steeped in ignorance.
>  
> 27. Neither disease nor poison nor adversity
> nor any other thing in the world causes
> more suffering to men than such stupidity
> engendered in their bodies.
>  
>  
> (To be Continued)
> 
> -- 
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "California - SF Bay Area Ramana Maharshi Satsang" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to virupaaksha+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/virupaaksha/2029362258.2477881.1664897973115%40mail.yahoo.com.