English
Asa prince regent governing the kingdom of his father, is bent after the happiness of bis subjects, with the view of being duly installed; eo with the view of being one with Brahma, a theosophist meditates on the Witnessing Intelit gence and its resemblance with self. 141. “A knower of Brabma is himself a Brahma.” Here fa Sruéi evidence, having for its purport destruction of misery - and disregard for what @ theosophist used to practice prior - to knowledge. In other words, he should concentrate his desire to know Brahma and leave off everything else, 24%, As a person with the desire of acquiring the condition of Deva, seeks self-destruction in fire, or by falling from the summit of @ mountain, or submerging in the Ganges, or at the confluence of the three sacred rivers at Allahabad; so for the results abiding in the discovery of the Witnessing Intelligence’: delng no other than self, ¢ theosophist secks the destruction of the reflex intelligence (Jiva)—the more so, #3 his faction ‘ for knowledge of Brahnra may be intensified. 243. But in the above instance, so long as the body’ ler: he contlaues to be # man, and with Hs destroetion (when if ‘ia * ‘teduced into ashes) he becomes a Deva; so lilt the ¢oneudi: “qaation of fructescent works; Practically a person cannot do " away with the reflex intelligence, but continues as Jiva [to be one with Brahma after the separation of the present bods]. 244. As the sight of snake in 2 rope, at once strikes person with fright, which does not go away immediately with the discovery of his mistake, but subsides gradually, and as & repetition of the snake-illusion is apt to recur when he comes across a bit of string in the dark—stretching in his path : 345—246. So with the rising of knowledge, bis fructeacent do not abruptly come to an end, but are gradually exhausted swith consummation of their results, and during a subsequent Period of enjoyment he is apt to conceive “I am a man”, 247. As in the instance of the, “tenth person” the petson counting the rest forgetting to count himself, invariably comes to stop at number nine, and the party thinking their ‘tenth’ to have met with a watery grave, while in the act ‘of crossing the iver, give vent to their grief and strike their forehead, till pointed out by another, when discovering their mistake, their grief is replaced by happiness ; but that pain in the fores head takes a little time to subside, and not at once ; 248. Soa theosophist even after attaining to the condi tion of one delivered in life, has yet to exhaust his fructes- cent and enjoy or suffer according to their merit or de-meri and they cannot abruptly come to a close; and his emancipa- tion destroys the miseries of the fructescent. 249. Now this condition of delivered in life is not an observance of religious ceremony or any particular practice,® but @ mere resting on the Impartite Brahma, so that, if from = preponderance of the fructescent, there follows any illusion, to cause mental distraction, it should be guided by repeated discrimination of self, just as one having taken mercury, of © Like the fasting observed in the rxth phase of moons . PANGHADASI. L ~ 195 sulpburet of arsenic cannot stand the pangs of hunger for @ ingle day, but eats over and aver. 250. As in the aforesaid instance of the missing “tenth, ig when in the height of their grief, the rest of the company beat their foreheads forcibly to cause pain, but perceive it not, till. their mistake is pointed out and the missing tenth is visibly produced, when in the midst of happiness, they feel pain which subsides after the application of medicines; so a theo- ° sophist exhausts his fractescent by enjoying their results and subsequently attains to that Brahma, whose sole essence is doy, #¢., experiences the supreme felicity of emancipation. 25t. Whatever mention has been made in the present treatiae from the first verse, for the destruction of misery and ‘desire of release,’ that constitutes the 6th condition of an individual, a reflected shadow of the Uniform or Witnessing Intelligence ; the seventh is that supreme felicity in the form of satiety called Nirvan, which is now being!determined, 252, Satiety proceeding from the enjoyment of material prosperity, riches, position, rank, wife and children, etc., ia called excessive, but this seventh form is supreme; because with the attainment of the attainable [Brahma], one considers himself successful in achieving his end, and is supremely * gattated. 253. Prior to his knowledge, whatever avocation a person follows for the acquisition of felicity, or sacrificial offerings undertaken for the acquirement of the blissful abode of heaven, which is non-eternal, or whether practising the usual meana® for the acquisition of knowledge to help his emanci- pation, all these, were s part of bis duty, it was proper for © The four ‘means’ for attaining self-knowledge are = (1). Discrimination of things eternal and transient. {2). Disregard of reaping any benefits here ot herealter, (3). Passivity, self-control, abstinence, endurance, etc, (a). Desire of deliverance {from future re-births]. rd 1962". PANCHADASE. ‘Bhar, that they should be done ; but subsequent to knowledge, tr the absence of a desire for enjoying any results relating to earth-life, and for an experience of the felicity of Brahma, all that he had done cease to produce any more fruits to # theosophist: they are dead and abortive so to speak, and as’ he bas nothing proper for him to do, he’is therefore said to be successful in having done what was proper, [Just asa candidate for examination is said to be successful when he hag answered the questions set and satisfied his examiners, so that nothing remains for him to do, so far as the examination is concerned ; so a theosophist is said to be successful when he haa a visible cognition of Brahma and he has nothing proper for him to do, or be engaged in.—Because the usual means,—* devotional exercises, etc.—have brought forth their results in paving the way to knowledge, which has produced emancipae tion fn turn, and that is the goal.] 254. In this manner, having done what was proper for him: to do, and finding nothing left that was proper to be done, he recollects it and is supremely saiisfied (with his success). 355. Miserable persons steeped in ignorance of Self-know- ledge are absorbed in their desire for a wife, children and mate.’ tial prosperity : let them continue so. [But as] “I am full of supreme bliss’ what desire can I possibly have to continue attached to earth-life ? 256. Let them who desire the blissful abode of heaven practise sacrificial offerings, but “I am a knower of self” what occasion have I for practising any more action? 257. Let those who are qualified for studying the Shasfras tead them, or let them study the }’edas: my knowledge of self is ripe, hence “I am actionless” and not qualified for any thing elec. 258. Really I do not sleep, nor go out for begging, neither do'l bathe, nor conform to any previous habits; and if any one were to attribute them to me, that cannot cause any haroy + to my self. PANTHADASL. + &59. Asa heap of Adres precatorixs appears from distance‘ 0 be fire, and in spite of that appearance it hes no burning property, 80 the attribution of others about my being e worldly man, will not make my-self so, . 260, Let an enquirer of self-knowledge who has not stc- teeded in the cognition of his oneness with the Impartite Brahma, continue ta be engaged in the usual means for its’ acquisition ; ‘I am a knower of the Supreme Brahma,” there- fore have no more a necessity for them. Let them that are effected with doubts practise ‘consideration,’ “I am free from doubt ;” and have therefore no occasion for it, 261. Let him who has antagonistic ideas concerning the Supreme Brahma, have recourse to ‘contemplation,’ but “I am free from conflicting ideas.” Why then am I to undertake its Practices? _ 262, Even in spite of conflicting ideas from a force of confirmed habit and as a result of fructescent works, @ theo- sophist is apt to exlaim “I am @ man.” [That is, not Brahma.} 263. But with the exhaustion of the fructescent, by enjoy- ing their results, the above practice ceases: otherwise a thou~ ‘sand contemplations over and over, are quite powerless to destroy it so long as the fructescent continue, 264. If the practical use of the above expression “Iam aman” appears conflicting to knowledge and for soeking its destruction yoy think it desirable to be engaged in contempla- ‘tion, that may be necessary for you; but seeing that practice to be opposed to knowledge why ‘am I” to contemplate? 265. For Iam free from mental distraction, and there- fore there fs no occasion for me to have recourse to profound meditation. Both distraction and profound meditation are the .attributes of an unrestrained and changeable [fickle] mind. 266. I am not an agent, neither a beggar, nor a studert’ - of the sacred scriptures; Iam no doer of sacrifice, or devo- tional exercise, from the force of the fructescent ; no practior, ~ PANCHADASE. glitiee popular or religions, or anything else, can cacse me injury. 267, Or, if after having done all that was proper to be ‘done, for the sake of securing popular favor I follow the practice enjoined in the Skaséras, even that does not cause ame any harm, 268. Whether my body is engaged in devotion and wor- ship, bathing, and cleanliness, or begging for food, and my words, in recanting the mystic ‘Om,’ or hearing the Upa- mishads ; 269. Whether my intellect be engaged in contemplating ‘Vishnu, or absorbed in the felicity of Brahma, “I am the eter- nal, pure, Witnessing Intelligence,” and have neither any incli- nation for works, nor create it in any.