Mysticism -- Hinduism; Religion; Sanskrit literature -- Translations into English
In the third chapter Yama defines what part of our being dies and what part is
deathless, what is mortal and what is immortal. But the Atman, the Higher
Self, is so entirely beyond human conception that it is impossible to give a
direct definition of It. Only through similies can some idea of It be
conveyed. That is the reason why all the great Teachers of the world have so
often taught in the form of parables. So here the Ruler of Death represents
the Self as the lord of this chariot of the body. The intellect or
discriminative faculty is the driver, who controls these wild horses of the
senses by holding firmly the reins of the mind. The roads over which these
horses travel are made up of all the external objects which attract or repel
the senses:--the sense of smelling follows the path of sweet odours, the sense
of seeing the way of beautiful sights. Thus each sense, unless restrained by
the discriminative faculty, seeks to go out towards its special objects. When
the Self is joined with body, mind and senses, It is called the intelligent
enjoyer; because It is the one who wills, feels, perceives and does
everything.
V
He who is without discrimination and whose mind is always
uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the vicious
horses of a driver.
VI
But he who is full of discrimination and whose mind is always
controlled, his senses are manageable, like the good horses of a
driver.
The man whose intellect is not discriminative and who fails to distinguish
right from wrong, the real from the unreal, is carried away by his sense
passions and desires, just as a driver is carried away by vicious horses over
which he has lost control. But he who clearly distinguishes what is good from
what is merely pleasant, and controls all his out-going forces from running
after apparent momentary pleasures, his senses obey and serve him as good
horses obey their driver.
VII
He who does not possess discrimination, whose mind is
uncontrolled and always impure, he does not reach that goal, but
falls again into Samsara (realm of birth and death).
VIII
But he who possesses right discrimination, whose mind is under
control and always pure, he reaches that goal, from which he is
not born again.
IX
The man who has a discriminative intellect for the driver, and a
controlled mind for the reins, reaches the end of the journey,
the highest place of Vishnu (the All-pervading and Unchangeable
One).
A driver must possess first a thorough knowledge of the road; next he must
understand how to handle the reins and control his horses. Then will he drive
safely to his destination. Similarly in this journey of life, our mind and
senses must be wholly under the control of our higher discriminative faculty;
for only when all our forces work in unison can we hope to reach the goal--the
abode of Absolute Truth.
X
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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