The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol 4 (of 4), Part 1 (of 2)Valmiki
Religion
The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki, Vol 4 (of 4), Part 1 (of 2)
Valmiki
Hinduism -- Doctrines -- Early works to 1800; Religious life -- Hinduism -- Early works to 1800
2. The lighted lamp of the understanding being extinguished, the
erroneous conceptions of the world vanishes into the air; and the ocular
vision and mental operations, are as undulations of consciousness.
(_i.e._ The conscious acts through all the sensible organs, mental
faculties and bodily members).
3. The world bears the same relation to the supreme soul, as the
fluctuation of the winds bear to air, and as the radiation of rays bears
to light, which have no other causality except in themselves.
4. The world is inherent in the Supreme, as fluidity is connate with
water, and vacuity is connatural with air. But why and how they are so
intimately connected with one another, is quite inconceivable to us.
5. The world which is thus immanent in the vast vacuity of the great
intellect, is manifest to our minds as brilliancy in a gem. (The
appearance of light or lustre in a gem is no other than a property of
them itself).
6. The world therefore appertains to the supreme intellect, in the same
manner, as liquidity is related with water and fluctuation pertains to
air, and as vacuity belongs to the infinite void.
7. As ventilation has its relation with air, so doth the world bear upon
the supreme intellect; so there is no reason of supposing a duality to
subsist in the unity of any two of these.
8. The world is manifest to the sight of the ignorant, but it is frail
and nebulous in the estimation of the intelligent. It is however neither
manifest nor mysterious to the sapient, who believe it as an existence
subsisting in the entity of the self-existent unity.
9. It is well ascertained (in every system of philosophy), that there is
nothing else in existence, beside the sole intellect, which is pure
intelligence, and having no beginning, middle or end of it.
10. This is the great intellect of some, and the holy spirit of
others; it is the eternally omniscient Brahma according to some, and
the infinite void or vacuum of vacuists. It is also called
_jnapti_—knowledge or science by scientists.
11. Now people understand this infinite and intellectual spirit, in the
sense of an intelligible being; while others suppose him as knowable in
themselves, and thus trying to know, become quite ignorant of him.
12. Without the intellect there is no knowledge of the intelligibles,
neither is there the faculty of intellection unless there be the
intellect; as there is no air without vacuum, nor is there any air
without its ventilation.
13. So it is the shadow of the great intellect, that makes our
consciousness to perceive the existence of the world; and whether the
world is an entity or non-entity, there is no other cause of its
knowledge than the intellect.
14. It is owing to the unity of this duality (_viz_ of the world and the
spirit), that this sense of their identity is verified; nor is there any
one who can make unity or duality the all pervading vacuity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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