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He (Jiva) who is joined 414 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana with Avidya is always imprisoned. He (Ishvara) who is joined with Vidya is always liberated. (Maya of Ishvara or Vidya does not throw a veil round and does not delude). The "conscious" are two in every individual. The consciousness of Isvara is universal. Jivatma how- ever takes upon himself the limitations of individuality and becomes the conscious centre in every man. "I perceive" "I conceive" "I do," that "I" is Atma limited by the sense of individuality. The perception and conceptions are of Jivatma and he is the partaker of the fruits. This "Jiva" element in an individual is in bondage. But the Isvara el- ement in him is always liberated. And Jiva becomes liberated, when the individual limitation is withdrawn). "(Now the difference amongst Jivas liberated and imprisoned). "The liberated (Jiva) though dwelling in the body does not dwell in it as it were, even like one aroused from dream. (The awakened man remembers his dream body, but realises it as unreal, So the liberated Jiva looks upon his body as unreal or a temporary halting station, not a part of his own self). The ignorant identifies himself with the body, like the man in dream. "The senses perceive the objects of the senses. The Gunas perceive the Gunas. The wise (Jiva) does not identify self with these. He is therefore not distracted. "The ignorant, however, while dwelling in this body brought about by prior Karma, in which the senses act, thinks that he is the doer and becomes thus bound down. "The wise one sees with disgust that the actions of others bind him. Sleeping, sitting, walking or bathing, seeing, touching, smelling, eating or hearing, the wise (Jiva) does not bind himself like the igno- rant, for in those acts, he realises that the Gunas (senses) perceive (and not his self). He dwells in the body, but is not attached to it, like the Akasa, the sun and the air. (Space is in all things, but the things form no part of space. The sun becomes reflected in water, but is not attached to water. The air moves about all around, but does not be- come attached to any thing). By the force of dispassion, the vision becomes clear. All doubts are removed. And the wise (Jiva) rises as it were from sleep, and withdraws himself from the diversities (of body and other material objects). "The Jiva whose Pranas, Indriyas, Manas and Buddhi function Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 415 without the promptings of self-centred desires is freed from the at- tributes of the body though dwelling in the body. "Whether injured by others or adored the liberated Jiva is not affected in the least. He neither praises nor blames others for their good or bad deeds or words. He knows no merits nor demerits. He looks on all with an equal eye. He does not do anything, he does not say anything, he does not think on any thing, good or bad. He is self-entranced and moves like a sense-less being (Jada). "If a man well-versed in the Vedas is not fixed in the Supreme, his labour becomes fruitless like that of a man who keeps a breeding cow that bears no calf. A cow that does not give milk, an unchaste wife, a body that is under the control of others, an undutiful son, wealth that is not given to the deserving and words that do not relate to me: he only keeps these whose lot is misery. "With discrimination such as this do away with the notion of di- versity in self. Then fix your purified mind in Me, who am all per- vading, and desist from everything else. "If you can not fix your mind in Me, then offer up all your actions unconditionally to Me. Hear with faith the words that relate to Me. Sing of Me, meditate on my deeds and Incarnations. Imitate these. Whatever you do, do that for Me. Then will be gained, O Uddhava, fixed devotion to Me. That devotion (Bhakti) is to be acquired in the company of Sadhus." SADHU AND BHAKTI. SKANDHA XI. CHAP. 11-12. Uddhava asked:— "Who according to Thee is a Sadhu? What sort of Bhakti (devo- tion) may be offered to Thee?" Sri Krishna replied:— "Compassionate, harmless, forgiving, firm in truth, faultless, im- partial, doing good to all, undisturbed by desires, self restrained, mild, pure, not asking for anything, indifferent, temperate in eating with controlled mind, steady in the performance of duties, seeking refuge in me, given to meditation, careful, profound, patient, having con- trol over the six-fold waves (hunger, thirst, sorrow and delusion, in- 416 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana firmity and death), not seeking respect from others, but respecting others, able, friendly, tender-hearted, wise, such is a Sadhu. He who knowing my injunctions and prohibitions in the performance of one’s own Dharma or duties of life, even gives them all up for my sake is the best of all Sadhus. Those who seek me and nothing else, whether they know or not what I am, are the best of My Bhaktas. "To see, touch and worship My symbols and my votaries, to serve and adore them, the humble recital of My glory and of My deeds, Faith in hearing words about Me, constant meditation on Me, the of- fering up of all gains to Me, even the offering up of self in a spirit of service, the observance of the sacred days, rejoicings in the houses set apart for Me (all good Hindus have a house or room set apart for divine worship), initiation according to the Vedic and the Tan- tric System (one who is initiated is to recite the Mantras a certain number of times, every morning and evening and he can not take his meals without doing so in the morning) to observe fasts, enthusiasm in founding My image for worship, and in founding gardens, build- ings and towns (in connection with My worship) humility and silence about one’s own good deeds,—these are the indications of Bhakti. "Sun, Fire, the Brahmana, the Cow, the Vaishnava, Akasa, Air, Water, Earth, Atma, and all beings—these are the eleven places of my worship. "Lam to be worshipped in the Sun, by Vedic Mantras, in the fire by sacrificial Ghee, in the Brahmana by hospitality, in the cows by the offer of grass, in the Vaishnava by friendly treatment, in the Akasa of the heart cavity by meditation, in the air by the contemplation of Prana, in the water by offerings of libation and so forth, in the Earth by secret Mantras, in Atma by experiencing (Bhoéga) and in all beings by equality. "In all these places of worship I am to be meditated on as with four hands, bearing conch, disc, club and lotus. "He who worships Me as above and serves the Sadhus acquires Devotion. Except by devotion that is acquired in the company of Sadhus, there is hardly any other way of liberation. I am not so eas- ily attainable by Yoga, Sankhya, Dharma, the reading of Scriptures, Tapas, gifts, charitable acts, fasts, Yajnas, the Vedas, resort to pilgrim- age, Niyamas or Yamas as by the company of Sadhus. Even those that Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 417 are the lowest by birth, those that have Rajas and Tamas predominant in them, the Daityas, Asuras, and Rakshasas attain me easily by the company of Sadhus. The Gopis in Vraja, the wives of the Vedic Brah- manas did not read the Vedas, they did not observe fasts, they did not perform Tapas, but they attained Me, through the company of Sad- hus. Therefore O Uddhava care not for Srutis or Smritis, for biddings and for forbiddings. Have recourse to Me, the Atma of all beings, with all devotion, and thou shall have no fear from any quarter." (The following stages are to be marked:— 1. Study of Nature and self instruction. 2. Self discrimination, resuting in the separation of the conscious Atma and the unconscious Non-Atma. 3. The understanding of what is bondage and liberation, and the relation between Jiva Atma and Parama Atma (ishvara.) 4. The liberating process during which the rules are to be ob- served, sacrifices to be made, the duties of life to be performed and active good done to all beings. During this process, the whole nature of the man becomes one of universal compassion and friendliness. Differences vanish. Good and bad become all alike. The Jiva rests in his own Atma, which is the Atma of all beings, and then all is calm and quiet. 5. The company of Sadhus. 6. Devotion acquired in that company. 7. When Devotion (Bhakti) becomes a part of one’s nature then the giving up of all rules, all karma, whether pertaining to the Srutis or the Smritis.) 418 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana WHY GIVE UP ALL KARMA SKANDHA XI. CHAP. 12. This Jiva-Ishvara becomes manifest in the cavities (nerve- plexuses). He enters the cavity (called Adhara or prostatic plexus) with the Prana (energy) of sound (called Para). He passed through subtle mind-made forms (Pasyanti and Madhyama) in the plexuses called Manipura or Solar and Visuddhi or laryngeal and at last comes out as) very gross (Sound forms, called Vaikhari, consisting of) Matra (Measures, such as long, short &c), Svara (accents known as Udatta or high, Anudatta or low and Svarita or mixed; and Varna the (letters of the alphabet, ka, kha &c.) (The ruling idea is that the teachings of the Vedas and the Smri- tis are conveyed in articulate expressions and are adapted to planes corresponding to articulation. But articulation is the last and grossest expression of Divine Sound energy. In man the highest manifestation of sound energy, the primal voice, the divine voice, the first Logos, is Para. It is the Light which manifests the whole Universe. In that highest plane of manifestation there is no difference between Light and Sound. The seat of this Light is Mtla-Adhara Chakra. Coming down the line of material manifestation, this Divine Light, this Para Voice, become Pasyanti in the plane of causes, of germ thoughts, of root ideas, the Karana plane.