The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol. 3 (of 4), Part 2 (of 2)Valmiki
Religion
The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol. 3 (of 4), Part 2 (of 2)
Valmiki
Hinduism -- Doctrines -- Early works to 1800; Religious life -- Hinduism -- Early works to 1800
13. The acts of wise men are neither to be praised or blamed nor are
they praiseworthy or blameable; because they are never done from
private or public motives (but on the expediency of the occasion).
14. As light and heat are the natural properties, of fire and sun
shine; so are the actions of Siva and the Gods, ordained as such from
the beginning, as the caste customs of the twice born dwijas (Aryans).
15. Though the natures of all mankind are the same, as they are
ordained in the beginning; yet the ignorant have created differences
among them, by institution of the distinction of castes and customs;
and as their institutions are of their own making, they are subjected
by them to the evils of future retribution and transmigration. (Men are
bound down by their own laws, from which the brute creation is entirely
free).
16. I have related to you, Ráma! the quadruple reticence of embodied
beings, and have not as yet expounded the nature of the silence of
disembodied souls (as those of the Gods, siddhas and departed saints).
17. Hear now how men are to obtain this chief good (summum bonum) of
theirs, by their knowledge of the intellectual souls in the clear
sphere of their own intellect, which is clearer far than the etherial
sphere of the sky.
18. It is by the knowledge of all kinds of knowledge, and constant
devotion to meditation; and by the study of the numerical philosophy of
particulars in the sánkhya system, that men became renowned as _Sánkhya
yogis_ or categorical philosopher. (The Sánkhya is opposed to the
Vedánta, in as much as it rises from particulars to general truths).
19. The yoga consists in the meditation of Yogis, of the form of the
eternal and undecaying One; by suppression of their breathings, and
union with that state, which presents itself to their mind.
20. That unfeigned and undisguised state of felicity and tranquillity,
which is desired as the most desirable thing by all, is obtainable by
some by means of the Sánkhya Yoga, and by the Jnána Yoga by others.
21. The result of both these forms of Yoga, is the same, and this is
known to anybody that has felt the same; because the state arrived at
by the one, is alike to that of the other also.
22. And this supreme state is one, in which the actions of the mental
faculties and vital breath, are altogether imperceptible; and the
network of desires is entirely dispersed.
23. The desire constitutes the mind, which again is the cause of
creation; it is therefore by the destruction of both of these, that one
becomes motionless and inactive. (Forgets himself to a stone. Pope).
24. The mind forgets its inward soul, and never looks towards it for a
moment; it is solely occupied with its body, and looks at the phantom
of the body, as a child looks at a ghost. (Thinking it a reality).
25. The mind itself is a false apparition, and an unsubstantial
appearance of our mistake; and shows itself as the death of some body
in his dream, which is found to be false upon his waking.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account