English
If the desire for liberation exists in thee, sensuous objects must be left at a great distance as if they were poison, thou must constantly and fervently seek contentment as if it were ambrosia, also kindness, forgiveness, sincerity, tranquillity and self-control. 85. Whoever attends only to the feeding of his own body, doing no good to others and constantly avoids his own duty, and not seeking liberation from the bondage caused by ignorance, kills himself. * There is here a play on the word prati-paila, which means both " the first step" and " the first day. ( 113 ) 80. He who lives only to nourish his own body, is like one who crosses a river on an alligator thinking it to be a log of wood. 87. For one desirous of liberation, desires pertaining to the body etc. lead to the great death ; lie \vho is free from such desires is alone fit to gain liberation. 88. Conquer the great death — desire for the (sake of) the body, wife, son, and so on. Having conquered it the ascetics (iit,ti.-n..'ix) enter the supreme abode of Vishnu (I.e. attain union with the Logos who reside in the bosom of Parabrahm). 89. This gross body which we condemn is made up of skin, flesh, blood, nerves, fat, marrow and bones, and is filled with filth. DO. This gross body, produced out of the five gross elements themselves produced by the quintupling process, through previous karma, is the vehicle of earthly enjoyments. In the waking state of that body gross objects are perceived. 91. The ogo embodied in this through the external organs enjoys gross objects such as the various forms of chaplcts of flowers, sandal-wood, woman and so forth.* Therefore it is conscious of the body in its waking state. 92. Know that this gross bod}-, on which depend all the external manifestations of tfie pwrusharf is but like the house of the householder. 90. The products of the gi'oss (body) ore birth, decrepitude, and death. Its stages of development are childhood^ and the rest. To the body, subject to diseases, belong the innumerable * Typical of all sensuous objects. t Tins Avord is not to be understood hero us the absolute self, but merely the embodied self. PnrHtlta literally means the dweller in the city, that is in the body. It is derived from piirn which means the city or body, and tin/ta a derivative of the verb m.s to dwell. £ According to the Hindus the body passes through six stages,— birth existence, grwtli, change, decline and death. regulations concerning caste and condition,* as do also honour, digrace, adulation and the like. 94. Intellect, hearing, touch, sight, smell and taste (are called) senses by reason of their conveying perceptions of gross objects. Speech, kands, feet, etc. are called organs of action because through them acts are performed. 95, 90. The niana*, Imddhi, ahankrltl and chitta, with their functions, are called the internal instruments. Mana* is (so called) by reason of (its) postulating and doubting ; InuhUl by reason of (its) property of (arris ing at a) fixed judgment about objects; ahanki'iti arises from egotism, &ndchitto,h so-called on account of its property of concentrating the mind on one's own interest. 97. Vitality (prdna, the second principle), by the difference of its functions and modifications becomes like gold, water)* and so ou,prdna, a^dna, -ni/ana, uddna, samn. 98. The five (faculties) beginning with speech, the five (organs) beginning with the car, the five (vital airs) beginning with prdwi the five (elements) beginning with dkdsn, baddJil (intellect) and the rest, av'tdyd, (ignorance) whence kdma (desire) and karma (action) constitute a body called wkshma (subtle) body. 99. Listen 1 This body produced from five subtle elements is called #uk*sh-'ni(i as also linya (characteristic) sarira ; it is the field of desires, it experiences the consequences of hirnia (prior experience); it (with the Karana Sarira added) being igno rant, has no beginning, and is the vpadhi (vehicle) of at men. * There are four conditions of Mfe : bmincirhnrya, houseless celibacy • {/rthaftthya, family life as a househoUler ; raita/iraxfhd, religious life in the forest ; and bhalkxhya, mendicancy. Hindu legislators have prescribed rules applicable to persons in each of these conditions. t As gold is transformed by modifications of form into bracelets, earrings, etc. ; and water, by change of function, becomes steam or ice or modifies its form according to the vessel in which it is contained, so vitality receives different forms in accordance with the different functions it assumes. 100. The characteristic condition of this body is the dreamy state ; this state is distinguished from the waking state by the peculiar manner in which its senses work ; in the dreamy state mind itself revives the conditions created by the desires of the waking state. 101. This body having attained the condition of the actor manifests itself. In it shines the absolute self (seventh prin ciple) which has as ifc vehicle intellect (higher fifth principle) and which is unaffected by any htrma as if an independent witness. 102. Because it (seventh principle) is free from all union, it is unaffected by the action of any u-padkl. This linya wtr-iiu performs all actions as the instrument of at ma just as the chisel and other tools (perform the actions) of the carpenter ; for this reason the at ma is free from all union. 103. The properties of blindness, weakness and adaptability exist on account of the good or bad condition of the eye ; simi larly deafness, dumbness and so on are properties of the ear and are not to be considered as belonging to the self. 104. In-breathing, out-breathing, yawning, sneezing and so forth are the actions of piumi and the rest, say the wise men ; the property of vitality is manifested in hunger and thirst. 105. The internal organ is in communication with the path of the eye and the rest, and by reason of the specialising (of the whole) the ego* (ahankara) is manifested. * The corporeal eye by itself is incapable of seeing, otherwise it would not cease to see at the death of the body. In reality the eye sees by reason of its connection with the self through the egotism (ahankara) by the concept or object which maybe described as "lam the seer/' That this object is different from the egotism itself is clear from the fact that there exist other objects of a similar nature strung together or connected by the egotism such as " I am the hearer," etc.; here it is plain that the abovementioned concepts are none of them the egotism itself, for the disappearance of the concept " I am the seer" does not involve the disappearance of the egotism which mani fests through other similar concepts, ( no ) 106. This own which is the subject o-f enjoyment and ex- perienco is to be known as nlnnd'<ii'<i*f. It attains three conditions by association with the qualities,*)' satva and the rest. 107. By the agrecableness of objects it becomes happy and by the contrary unhappy ; happiness and unhappiness are its properties and not of atnia which is the eternal bliss. 108. Objects become dear not in themselves but by reason of their usefulness to the self because the self is the most beloved of all. 109. Therefore the atma is the eternal bliss, for it there is no pain. The bliss of the atma, dissociated from all objects, which is experienced in dreamless slumber, is during waking perceived by direct cognition, { by instruction and by inference. 110. The supreme maya (Jut of which all this universe is born, which is Paramesa eakti (the power of the supreme Lord) called avyalda (unmanifested) and which is the begin- ningless avidya (ignorance) having the three ijuna* (qualities), is to b inferred through its effects by (our) intelligence. 111. This Maya is noumenal nor phenomenal nor is it essentially both : it is neither differentiated nor is it imdiHei-eii- tiated nor is it essentially both ; it is neither particled nor is it the unparticled nor is it essentially both ; it is of the most wonderful and indescribable form. * It will be seen that hitherto only sensational consciousness of objects lias been treated of. But in every act of sensational consciousness is involved the consciousness of the self that experiences sensation.