English
The innumerable earths with their rulers and their wealth, have all perished like fine sands ; the Devalokas with their Indras and wealth have all disappeared like fish in the sky above ; no limit can be Imposed upon the number of universes, Brahmas, mun dane eggs and Jivas that have come and gone. Oh afflicting mind, where then are all the objects that have vanished out of sight? Where then is the permanency of your existence? It is only by bestowing my desires on the illusion of the long dream of bodily delusion in the sable night of the unreal Ma"ya that I have debased myself to this ignorant state. Enough, enough with all the deaths I had undergone in previous times. I have never been able to find that beneficent Kala THESTORY OF KING JANAKA. 147 (time) which does not put an end to any object. Not one be neficent object exists on this earth, either in the beginning, middle or end, Are not all created objects coated over with the varnish of destruction ? The ignorant, every day of their lives, enact with their body dire sinful acts, painful deeds and illimitable vices. In youth, they will be enve loped with Ajn&na ; in adult age, they are entangled in the meshes of women ; in old age, groaning under the burden of Samsara, they die. Being thus always occupied, when will they find time to devote themselves to the commission of virtuous deeds ? How came this Maya to play and dance in this world ? This ghost of my mind dances in the theatre of this universe to the music of the organs.' ' Asat is perched on the crown of Sat. Similarly Adhar- ma or pains is ever seated on the crown of the illuminated Dharma in this universe. If pains are seated on the crown of (or are the necessary accompaniments) the stainless plea sures, how can we discriminate between them and find out the stainless? If in the opening and the closing of the eyelids, many Brahmas are created and destroyed, what am I, a puny self, before them ? A rare marvellous wealth becomes a source of pains with the affliction of the mind ; even an object of infinite danger is the source of great happiness through the mind rightly directed. It is only the dire Samsciric life that is the source of all pains. How can happiness be generated in those lives that are drowned in Samsara ? The mind of de lusion constitutes the root of the tree of Samsara of Ajnana which ramifies in all directions with branches full of flowers, tendrils, fruits, &c. It is this mind which is called Sankalpa. With the destruction of Sankalpa, the mind will be also des troyed easily. The baneful root of mind being destroyed, the tree of birth and death will also be destroyed. Oh, I have detected the thief who robbed me of my Atmic Jewel, viz., my Self. His name is Manas (Mind). I have been long suffer ing through this villain. I will now gibbet him and make him die.' ' Till now I have not been able to bore a hole in this pearl of mind. Now I will do so and make a rosary of it by stringing it in the string of experience and wear it on my person. I have learnt it all through the omniscient Siddhas, 148 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. as my Guru. I am now in the enjoyment of that bliss which pertains to the pure Brahman. I have gradually dispelled from my mind such unrealities as I, you and other differences of conception. 1 will never hereafter bring them back to my mind. I am now victorious in the conflict with my great adversary of the mind which spoiled my Atma-Jnana. I have completely divested myself of all the pains which afflicted me. I have attained the life of quiescence. Oh, discriminative Jnana which uplifted me to this lofty state, I adore thee." Thus did king Janaka remain statue-like in Samddhi, after having destroyed all fluctuation of mind. After being in it for a long time, he returned from it and then surveyed the universe through his quiescent mind, his impure one having been destroyed past resurrection, with the following remarks: — ; What object is there in this world for me to encompass? What is illusory? To my present scrutini zing eye, all is pure Jnana only. I cognize nothing but the one immaculate Atma-Jnana — my own Reality. I will never long for any object, I do not come across ; nor will I evince any aversion towards any object that I do not come by. I will remain immutably fixed in my own Self of Atma-Jnana. Things will happen as pre-ordained." So saying the king was absorbed with Brahmic bliss in the non-dual state. Just as the effulgent sun in the Akasa causes days, &c., to happen without any volition or desire on their part, so also Janaka contemplated upon performing, without any longing, all actions of his life which crop up spontaneously every day. So never for a moment ruminating upon the past or future, productive as they are of evil, he began at once to transact his present actions with a full heart. Only through the Atmic enquiry created by the words of the Siddhas, did Janaka attain quiescence of mind and Atma-Jnana. Oh lotus- eyed Ra"ma, the supreme seat of Atma-Jnana can be attain ed only through the stainless and beautiful Atmic enquiry and not through the actions done by the low-minded with out a guru. The worldly-inclined do long after other goals than Atma ; but the longing after the extraordinary enjoyment of spiritual bliss is only through previous Atmic efforts. Therefore one should destroy Ajnana, the seed of THE STORY OF PUNNYA AND PA'VANA. 149 the previous tree of existence on this earth productive of fear ful dangers and surrounded by the ocean of pains. To the non-agitated Jndnis. the precious Jewel of Jnana locked in the casket of their heart will fetch, in a moment, whatever they think of, like the Kalpa tree (of Devaloka). Desires, hatred, &c., will not affect those in whom the (Atmic) bliss enjoyment has arisen through Atmic enquiry after the annihilation of Ajnana, just as persons clad in diamond ar mor are proof against arrows. Then the dense mist of Ahankdra, which having screened the Sun of Brahman ob scured the intelligence, will be dispersed piece-meal by the whirlwind of Jnana. Should one aspire for the supreme Brahmic Seat, he should previously have killed out all desires in his mind. Is not grain obtained, only after previously ploughing the field on this firm earth r THE STORY OF PUNNYA AND PA' VANA. Summary. — In this story it is sought to shew that spiri tual experience arises after many births only and that with great difficulty. The non-dual Atma-Jnana will, if developed, cause to perish Ajnana which is the cause of the growth and increase of the poisonous plant called Moha (delusion) and identifies the " I" with the body and others, the seat of the sovereign s\vay of the serpent of pains. Those who are acute enough to always discern the unreality of this universe will, like king fanaka, cognize through their subtle intelligence the non- dual Pararnartha (Reality) at the proper time. But such cognition will not take place through wealth, men, (religious) actions or celestials. Those who are afraid of being born over and over, should take refuge in their own efforts alone. If with every day the base conception of the differentiation of he, I, &c., be gradually destroyed, then the expansive Jnana which is all this universe will arise stainlessly. With true discrimination arising more and more in the mind, it will be able to cognize its own Atma-Jnana. When attraction and repulsion (towards objects) be* come of the nature of the mind (and commingle with it), it 150 YOGA-VA'IISHTA. alone is bondage and nothing else. Having: avoided all desires and pains arising through the ripened love and hatred towards objects, may you be immovable, devoid of attrac tion or repulsion towards them. The abovementioned qualities will find their asylum, unaccompanied by any pains in those wise persons free from the longing after release or non-release who are without delusion, non-permanency, Ajnana, pains, actions to be done or omitted, confusion, Vikalpa, fear, contraction (of mind), enmity, blemish, baseness, direness or deceptive words. The great Vasanas are the net composed of the string of powerful thoughts to catch the fishes of delusion in the ocean of existence. Having cut asunder, with the sword of Jn&na, the net of Vasanas, may you be with your mind as still as the clouds unaffected by the winds.