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I shall follow the same course.' With this purpose of giving up his life, he allowed himself to be devoured by the flames. While the body of Katanja was being burnt by fire, like tender leaf exposed to the flames, the body of Gadhi that had taken its plunge into the waters of the tank began to palpitate and quiver. In four Ghatikas, Gadhi's mind became cleared up of all obscurations of Maya and began to rumi nate upon who he was, and what he saw and did in that state. Then came he from the waters to the bank of the tank ; and then after having meditated upon the similar manner in which all Jivas in this world run about greatly agitated in their mind, like an angry tiger ever chafing in a forest, was (temporarily) relieved at heart, (in spite of his lingering doubts). With these thoughts in his mind, he passed some days in his hermitage, when there came upon the spot a guest who was heartily regaled with honey and fruit. At the time of Sandhya when the sun set in, they both performed their daily Karmas and returned to their respective seats of rest, where they were engaged in Atma-Jnana stories. At this time, Muni Gadhi enquired of the stranger the cause of the extreme emaciation of his body. i8o YOGA-VA'SISHTA. To which the guest replied thus — At the request of my be loved relatives, I spent a month in the famous and wealthy country of Keera situated on the north of this earth. Whilst I was recouping1 my health there, I chanced to come in con tact with a person therein who related the following anecdote. A king ruled over that country without any split or dissen sion for about eight years after which the true status of the king as belonging to the lowest class of Neechas, the dog- eaters, was brought to light. With this discovery, all the Brahmins and others went into the fire ; and the king fol lowed suit. Hearing that horrid fate of the Brahmins, I quit ted that country and took a pilgrimage to Prayaga (Allahabad) of waters with seething waves in order to wash off all my sins. There I, in accordance with Vedic rites, underwent penances and Chandrayana* Vrata and got emaciated thereby. At these words of the guest, Muni Gadhi was surprised and internally convinced that it was his own history that was referred to by the stranger. Therefore to verify for himself the truth of the events of his previous Neecha life, he travel led to and entered the Huna-Mandalaf where he saw his birthplace and the other places he dwelt in. All being there as he saw(before in his Samadhi), he shook his head in sur prise and after surveying all the diverse creations of Brahma, he proceeded still further to the Keera country where he saw without any, missing, his former palace and other familiar resorts of his, as well as heard the events of his life related by the people there. Is this the Maya that Vishnu acquainted me with ? Through the wonderful seed of my intelligence, have I been able to observe all these. • With these thoughts in his mind, he at once reached the slopes of a great hill and became an incomparable Tapaswin. A rare Tapas was there performed by him to gladden Vishnu, with a handful of water as his food. After the lapse of a year spent in such a Tapas, Vishnu appear ed personally before him in his hermitage in the form of a * Chandrayana Vrata — This is an observance in which beginning with 15 morsels of food on a full moon day, a person lessons them one by one till he reaches the new moon day when he increases it one by one daily. t lit. the country of Hunas or the lower caste men. THE STORY OF GA'DHI. l8l dark blue cloud* and addressed him thus. — 'Thou hast seen the glory of Maya in its true colors, What more dost thou want ? Why dost thou perform this true Tapas on the hill side here ?' The Muni became frantic with joy like the bird Chataka at the sable clouds high up in the sky, and then poured forth praises, prostrations, and salutations to Vishnu. Then look ing at Vishnu of graceful vision, he questioned Him thus. — * I have known vividly the nature of M£ya, the result of Karma, as thou wert pleased to show me. But I am yet ignorant of Maya in its latent innate state. How came this delusion to manifest itself as real ?' Vishnu replied thus — ' Oh Brahmin, this earth and other things of the universe, have for their substratum the mind and do not exist at any period apart from the mind. Almost all persons in this world, walking in the path of this universe of dreams, delusion and egoism look upon it as real and enjoy it. It is only in Chitta (the flitting mind) that the universe rests. Why shouldst thou be surprised, if this mind of thine, which contains (potentially) in itself all the Universe, should bring into objectivity thy life of a Neecha (which is but an insigni ficant part of the whole). The excessive (Ekagrata) one- thoughtedness (or ideation) of thy mind reflected itself in the life of a Neecha which reflection was then known. This reflection was caught up by the guest who came in subse quently and saw as real all these delusions. Like the analogy of a crow and palmyra fruitsf, the ideation of the Neecha's life reflected itself also in the minds of all who lived in Huna- Mandala and Keera-MandalaJ. Thus did these two kinds of ideations lend increased Reality to the minds of all creatures. Truly marvellous are the effects or manifestations of the mind, like the analogy of a crow and the palmyra fruits. Thus do diverse persons view the one dream (of the universe) in various ways. With one sport, many boys divert themselves in different ways." * Dark blue cloud was the form in which Vishnu appeared before Muni Gadhi. f Just as the cause of the fall of ripe palmyra fruits is wrongly at tributed to a crow which perches upon the tree at the time of their fall, so the universe is thought to be real though it is merely the creation of the mind. I lit. the country of Keera or Kashmir. 1 82 YOGA-VA'SISHTA. In similar manner was theNeecha born inHuna-Mandala in the habitation prepared for him by the mind. Likewise with the death of his relatives, he reached a foreign country. There he reigned over the country of Keera with his white victori ous parasol overshadowing his subjects and there allowed himself to be devoured by flames. It was only the ideation of your supreme mind thinking about the Neecha's life that brought about the reflection which afterwards assumed a reality. The ignorant who are impressed with the idea of the differentiations of ' He, thou, 1, this, that, mine,' &c., will ever be sunk in the mire of pains ; but those who have cognised earth and other things of the universe as no other than " I " will never despond under grief. With a mind distinct from and having no longing towards all the things of this earth, their firm intelligence will never cling to desires. Knowers of Tatwa Jnana will never render themselves liable to the delusions of Ajnana. As thou hast not cognized Jnana fully, thou hast not rid thyself of all thy mental delusions and quitted them all as degrading. Therefore it is thou hast com pletely forgotten thyself in a moment through thy delusions. To this wheel of the grand Moha (delusions), Manas is the axle. If by dint of discrimination, thy mind be destroyed, then Maya will not afflict thee. Now rise up from here and retire into the caves of this hill and perform Tapas there for ten years. Then will the eternal and true Jnana dawn in thee fully.' With these words, (the abovementioned) manifested form of Vishnu disappeared at the very spot where it appear ed. Thereupon the stainless Muni Gadhi, freed of all dire delusions, was devoid of attachments and underwent a rare Tapas. After a course of ten years, he lived replete with true Jnana. Then having attained the incomparable Seat of Sat, devoid of fear, pains, and longing for objects and shone in his real quiescent state as a Jivanmukta ever of the nature of bliss and with a mind as full as the full moon. THE STORY OF UDDHA'LAKA. 183 THE STORY OF UDDHA'LAKA. Summary. — Having shewn in the previous story that if Brahman, which enables one to visit personally Maya of the nature of mind, be visited, then all ideas of the universe vanish, the author narrates the present story to illustrate that this degreeless bliss arises through Samadhi consequent upon Atmic enquiry.