Vasiṣṭha's teaching (Mahārāmāyaṇa) 3.60

3.60.1

śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca .
etatte kathitaṃ rāma dṛśyadoṣanivṛttaye .
līlopākhyānamanaghaṃ ghanatāṃ jagatastyaja .. 1

Vasiṣṭha said: / This blameless story of Līlā has been told to you, O Rāma, / for the cessation of the defect of the visible. Cast off the solidity of the world.

Vasishtha said:—
1. [Sanskrit available] I have related to you this tale, prince! for removing your error of the phenomenal world. Mind this tale of Lila, and renounce your misconception of the gross material world.

3.60.2

śāntaiva dṛśyasattāsyāḥ śamanaṃ nopayujyate .
sato hi mārjanakleśo nāsatastu kadācana .. 2

The existence of the visible is already tranquil; bringing about its pacification serves no purpose. / For the trouble of wiping away belongs only to what exists, never to what does not exist.

2. [Sanskrit available] The substantiality of phenomena is a nil by itself, and requires no pains to invalidate it. It is hard to disprove a reality; but there is no difficulty in effacing a falsehood from the mind.

3.60.3

jñānenākāśarūpeṇa dṛśyaṃ jñeyasvarūpakam .
ityekībhūtamālokya jñastiṣṭhatyambaropamaḥ .. 3

Perceiving through knowledge that has the nature of space / that the visible has the own-nature of the knowable and is thus become one, the knower remains like the sky.

3. [Sanskrit available] True knowledge consists in viewing the visibles as void, and knowing the one vacuum as the sole unity and real entity; one loses himself at last in this infinite vacuity. (Vasishtha was a sunya vadi or vacuist, which Sankaracharya was at the pains to refute in his Dig-vijaya).

3.60.4

pṛthvyādirahitenedaṃ cidbhāsaiva svayaṃbhuvā .
sādhitaṃ yadi siddhena tataḥ svātmani sādhitam .. 4

If this was accomplished by the self-born one, who is the manifestation of consciousness devoid of earth and the other elements, / because he is perfected, then it was accomplished in his own Self.

4. [Sanskrit available] When the self-born Brahma created the world from nothing, and without the aid of any material or elementary body; it is plain that there was an eternal void, and all these are but manifestations of the vacuous soul. (The Teom and Beom of Genesis, corresponding with Tama and Vyom of the Veda, were the origin of creation).

3.60.5

saṃvidyathā yā yatate tathā saiva vyavasthitā .
visṛṣṭā sṛṣṭivinnadyāṃ yāvadyatnānna rodhitā .. 5

As consciousness exerts itself, so indeed does it remain, / cast forth into the river of creation-awareness, so long as it is not checked with effort.

5. [Sanskrit available] The same creative soul, has spread the seeds of its consciousness in the stream of creation, and these produce the images as they incessantly appear to us, unless we take the pains to repress them.

3.60.6

cidākāśāvabhāso'yaṃ jagadityavabudhyate .
cidvyomnyevātmani svacche paramāṇukaṇaṃ prati .. 6

This manifestation of the space of consciousness is understood as the world, / within the pure Self as the space of consciousness, in every single minute atom.

6. [Sanskrit available] The appearance of the world, is but a perspective of the sphere of divine intellect; and contained in the small space of human intellect within the soul; as in a transparent particle of sand.

3.60.8

evamasyā mudhābhrānteḥ kā sattā keva vāsanā .
kā vāsthā kā ca niyatiḥ kāvaśyaṃbhāvitocyatām 7
sarvaṃ caitadyathādṛṣṭaṃ sthitamitthamakhaṇḍitam .
māyaiveyamananteyaṃ na ca māyāsti kācana .. 8

Thus, what existence belongs to this vain delusion, what latent impression? / What reliance, what fixed rule, and what inevitability can be spoken of? / And all this, just as it is seen, remains thus unbroken; / this infinite thing is mere cosmic illusion, and yet no cosmic illusion exists at all.

7. [Sanskrit available] Such being the case, say what is the essence of this erroneous conception, and what may be our desires or reliance in it, and what can be the meaning either of destiny or necessity? (The predestination and chance, to which the Fatalists ascribe the origination of the universe).

8. [Sanskrit available]
This entire whole which is visible to the eye, is but a false appearance as that of magic; and there is no truth nor substance in a magic show.

3.60.9

śrīrāma uvāca .
aho nu paramā dṛṣṭirdarśitā bhagavaṃstvayā .
dāvāgnidagdhakakṣāṇāṃ dāhaśāntau kalaindavī .. 9

Rāma said: / Ah, indeed, a supreme vision has been revealed by you, O venerable one, / like a digit of the moon bringing peace to the burning of trees scorched by a forest fire!

8. [Sanskrit available]
This entire whole which is visible to the eye, is but a false appearance as that of magic; and there is no truth nor substance in a magic show.

Rama said:—
9. [Sanskrit available] Oh! the wondrous exposition of the world, that you have now explained to me. It refreshes my soul, as the moon-beams revive the blades of grass, that have been burnt down by a conflagration.

3.60.10

aho nu sucireṇādya jñātaṃ jñātavyamakṣatam .
mayā yathedaṃ yaccedaṃ yādṛg jñeyaṃ yato yadā .. 10

Ah, indeed, after so very long, that which is to be known has today been known by me unimpaired— / how this is, what this is, what kind of knowable it is, whence it is, and when it is.

10. [Sanskrit available]
It is after so long, that I have come to know the truly knowable; such as what and how it is, and the manner whereby, whence and when it is to be known.

Rama said:—
9. [Sanskrit available] Oh! the wondrous exposition of the world, that you have now explained to me. It refreshes my soul, as the moon-beams revive the blades of grass, that have been burnt down by a conflagration.

3.60.11

śāmyāmīva dvijaśreṣṭha nirvāmīva vikalpayan .
etadākhyānamāścaryaṃ vyākhyānaṃ śāstradṛṣṭiṣu .. 11

I seem to be at peace, O best of the twice-born; I seem to attain extinction as I reflect on / this wondrous narrative, which is an explanation among the insights of the scriptures.

10. [Sanskrit available]
It is after so long, that I have come to know the truly knowable; such as what and how it is, and the manner whereby, whence and when it is to be known.

11. [Sanskrit available]
I have my peace and rest in pondering on this wonderful theory, and your elucidation of the doctrines of the Sruti Sastras.

3.60.12

imaṃ me bhagavanbrūhi saṃśayaṃ sarvakovida .
tava pātuṃ na tṛpto'smi śrotrapātrairvacomṛtam .. 12

Tell me this doubt, O venerable one, knower of all! / I am not sated with drinking the nectar of your words through the vessels of my ears.

11. [Sanskrit available]
I have my peace and rest in pondering on this wonderful theory, and your elucidation of the doctrines of the Sruti Sastras.

12. [Sanskrit available]
But tell me this one thing to remove my doubt, as my ears are never satiate, with drinking the nectarious juice of your sweet speech.

3.60.15

sa sargatritaye kālo līlābharturhi yogataḥ .
sa kvacitkimahorātraḥ kvacitkiṃ māsamātrakaḥ .. 15

That time of Līlā's husband across the triad of creations through yoga: / why was it in one place a day and night, in another just a month,

13. Tell me the time, which transpired during the three births of Lila's husband. Was it the duration of a day and night in one case, and of a month in another, and the period of a whole year in the case of Viduratha?

12. [Sanskrit available]
But tell me this one thing to remove my doubt, as my ears are never satiate, with drinking the nectarious juice of your sweet speech.

3.60.15_1

kvacitkiṃ bahuvarṣāṇi kasyacitkimu pelavaḥ .
kasyacitkiṃ mahādīrghaḥ kasyacitkiṃ kṣaṇaḥ sthitaḥ .. 14

in one place many years, for someone slender, / for someone very long, and for someone remaining a mere moment?

14. [Sanskrit available] Or did any one of them live for many years, and whether they were of short or longer durations, according to the measure of men, gods or Brahma. (Because a human year is a day and night of the polar gods, and a moment of the cycle of Brahma. And revolution of the whole planetary system to the same point makes a day of Brahma).

3.60.15_2

iti me bhagavanbūhi tvaṃ yathāvadanugrahāt .
sakṛcchrutaṃ na viśrāntimeti loṣṭe yathā jalam .. 15

Tell me this, O venerable one, as it truly is, out of grace; / what is heard only once does not attain stability, like water upon a clod of earth.”

15. [Sanskrit available] Please sir, kindly tell me this, because little hearing is not sufficient to me, as a drop of water is not enough to moisten the dry soil or the parched ground of summer heat.

3.60.16

śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca .
yena yena yathā yadyadyadā saṃvedyate'nagha .
tena tena tathā tattattadā samanubhūyate .. 16

The venerable Vasiṣṭha said:
By whomever, in whatever way, whatever is experienced and whenever, O sinless one, / by him, in that way, that very thing is then experienced.

Vasishtha said:—
16. [Sanskrit available] Know sinless Rama! that whosoever thinks of anything in any manner at any place or time, he comes to feel the same in the same manner, and in the same place and time.

3.60.17

amṛtatvaṃ viṣaṃ yāti sadaivāmṛtavedanāt .
śatrurmitratvamāyāti mitrasaṃvittivedanāt .. 17

Poison becomes nectar through the constant experience of it as nectar; / an enemy becomes a friend through the experience of perceiving him as a friend.

Vasishtha said:—
16. [Sanskrit available] Know sinless Rama! that whosoever thinks of anything in any manner at any place or time, he comes to feel the same in the same manner, and in the same place and time.

17. [Sanskrit available] Take for instance the destructive poison, which becomes as ambrosia to venomous insects, that take it for their dainty nourishment; and so is an enemy turning to a friend by your friendly behaviour unto him. (In both cases the evil turns to good by our taking it as such).

3.60.18

yathā bhāvitameteṣāṃ padārthānāṃ nijaṃ vapuḥ .
tadeva hi cirābhyāsānniyatervaśamāyatam .. 18

In whatever manner the inherent nature of these objects has been conceived, / that very form, through long practice, has come under the sway of fixed order.

17. [Sanskrit available] Take for instance the destructive poison, which becomes as ambrosia to venomous insects, that take it for their dainty nourishment; and so is an enemy turning to a friend by your friendly behaviour unto him. (In both cases the evil turns to good by our taking it as such).

18. [Sanskrit available] And the manner in which all beings consider themselves, and all others for a length of time; the same they seem to be by their mode and habit of thinking, as if it were by an act of destiny (i. e., they consider their thoughts of things as their destined nature, which is not so in reality; for fair is foul and foul is fair; according as our judgments declare).

3.60.19

kacanaikātmikaiṣā cidyathā kacati yādṛśam .
tathā tathāśu bhavati tatsvabhāvaikakāraṇāt .. 19

This consciousness, consisting of manifestation alone, in whatever way and of whatever kind it shines forth, / just so it immediately becomes, because its own nature is the sole cause.

18. [Sanskrit available] And the manner in which all beings consider themselves, and all others for a length of time; the same they seem to be by their mode and habit of thinking, as if it were by an act of destiny (i. e., they consider their thoughts of things as their destined nature, which is not so in reality; for fair is foul and foul is fair; according as our judgments declare).

19. [Sanskrit available] The manner in which the active intellect represents a thing in the soul, the same is imprinted in the consciousness of its own nature. (Here the Chit is said to be the intellectus agens and consciousness—Samvid—the intellectus patiens. The motion of the mind gives us the impressions of the swiftness and slowness of time).

3.60.20

nimeṣe yadi kalpaughasaṃvidaṃ parivindati .
nimeṣa eva tatkalpo bhavatyatra na saṃśayaḥ .. 20

If in a mere blink of an eye one experiences the consciousness of a multitude of eons, / then that blink of an eye indeed becomes an eon; there is no doubt about this.

19. [Sanskrit available] The manner in which the active intellect represents a thing in the soul, the same is imprinted in the consciousness of its own nature. (Here the Chit is said to be the intellectus agens and consciousness—Samvid—the intellectus patiens. The motion of the mind gives us the impressions of the swiftness and slowness of time).

20. [Sanskrit available] When our consciousness represents a twinkling of the eye as a Kalpa, we are led to believe a single moment an age of long duration. (As a short nap appears an age in dreaming), and (a long age as a moment as in the case of the seven sleepers of Kehef).

3.60.21

kalpe yadi nimeṣatvaṃ vetti kalpo'pyasau tataḥ .
nimeṣībhavati kṣipraṃ tādṛgrūpātmikā hi cit .. 21

If in an eon one experiences the state of a mere blink of an eye, then even that eon / swiftly becomes a blink of an eye; for consciousness is of such a nature.

20. [Sanskrit available] When our consciousness represents a twinkling of the eye as a Kalpa, we are led to believe a single moment an age of long duration. (As a short nap appears an age in dreaming), and (a long age as a moment as in the case of the seven sleepers of Kehef).

21. [Sanskrit available] And when we are conscious of or think a Kalpa age as a twinkling, the Kalpa age is thought to pass as a moment; and so a long night in our unconscious sleep, appears as a moment upon waking.

3.60.22

duḥkhitasya niśā kalpaḥ sukhitasyaiva ca kṣaṇaḥ .
kṣaṇaḥ svapne bhavetkalpaḥ kalpaśca bhavati kṣaṇaḥ .. 22

To the sorrowful a night is an eon, and to the happy it is just a moment; / in a dream a moment may become an eon, and an eon becomes a moment.

21. [Sanskrit available] And when we are conscious of or think a Kalpa age as a twinkling, the Kalpa age is thought to pass as a moment; and so a long night in our unconscious sleep, appears as a moment upon waking.

22. [Sanskrit available] The night appears a longsome age, to the long suffering sick, while it seems as a moment, in the nightly revels of the merry; so a moment appears as an age in the dream, and an age passes off as a moment in the state of insensibility. (The length and shortness of duration, depending on our consciousness and insensibility of the succession of our ideas. See Locke and Kant on our idea of time).

3.60.23

yathā ca mṛtvā jāto'haṃ taruṇo yauvanasthitaḥ .
yāto'smi yojanaśataṃ svapna ityanubhūyate .. 23

Just as it is experienced in a dream: 'Having died, I was born, grew into a youth settled in adolescence, / and traveled a hundred leagues';

22. [Sanskrit available] The night appears a longsome age, to the long suffering sick, while it seems as a moment, in the nightly revels of the merry; so a moment appears as an age in the dream, and an age passes off as a moment in the state of insensibility. (The length and shortness of duration, depending on our consciousness and insensibility of the succession of our ideas. See Locke and Kant on our idea of time).

23. [Sanskrit available] The notions of the resurrection of the dead, and of one's metempsychosis, and being re-born in a new body; of his being a boy, youth or old man; and of his migrations to different places at the distance of hundreds of leagues, are all but the phenomena of sleep, and retrospective views in a dream.

3.60.24

rātriṃ dvādaśavarṣāṇi hariścandro'nubhūtavān .
lavaṇo bhuktavānāyurekarātryā samāḥ śatam .. 24

Hariścandra experienced a single night as twelve years; / Lavaṇa lived a lifespan of a hundred years in a single night.

23. [Sanskrit available] The notions of the resurrection of the dead, and of one's metempsychosis, and being re-born in a new body; of his being a boy, youth or old man; and of his migrations to different places at the distance of hundreds of leagues, are all but the phenomena of sleep, and retrospective views in a dream.

24. [Sanskrit available] King Haris Chandra is said, to have thought a single night as a dozen of years; and the prince Lavana to have passed his long life of a hundred years as the space of a single night. (So the seven sleepers of Kehef passed a long period as one night, and so of others).[1]

3.60.25

yanmuhūrtaḥ prajeśasya sa manorjīvitaṃ muneḥ .
jīvitaṃ yadviriñcasya taddinaṃ kila cakriṇaḥ .. 25

A muhūrta of the Lord of Creatures is the life of Manu, the sage; / the lifespan of Viriñca is indeed a single day of the Wielder of the Discus.

24. [Sanskrit available] King Haris Chandra is said, to have thought a single night as a dozen of years; and the prince Lavana to have passed his long life of a hundred years as the space of a single night. (So the seven sleepers of Kehef passed a long period as one night, and so of others).[1]

25. [Sanskrit available] What was a moment to Brahma, was the whole age of the life-time of Manu (Noah); and what is a day to Vishnu, constitutes the long period of the life-time of Brahma. (This alluded to the comparative differences in the cycles of planetary bodies presided by the different deities; such as Jupiter's cycle of 60 years round the sun, is but one year to the presiding god of that planet).

3.60.26

viṣṇoryajjīvitaṃ rāma tadvṛṣāṅkasya vāsaraḥ .
dhyānaprakṣīṇacittasya na dināni na rātrayaḥ .. 26

The lifespan of Viṣṇu, O Rāma, is a single day of the Bull-bannered One; / for one whose mind has dissolved in meditation, there are neither days nor nights.

25. [Sanskrit available] What was a moment to Brahma, was the whole age of the life-time of Manu (Noah); and what is a day to Vishnu, constitutes the long period of the life-time of Brahma. (This alluded to the comparative differences in the cycles of planetary bodies presided by the different deities; such as Jupiter's cycle of 60 years round the sun, is but one year to the presiding god of that planet).

26. [Sanskrit available] The whole life-time of Vishnu, is but one day of the sedate Siva; for one whose mind is motionless in his fixed meditation, is unconscious of the change of days and nights and of seasons and years. (Since the meditative mind is insensible of the fluctuation of its ideas, or that there is an utter quietus of them in the quietism of the Yogi's mind).

3.60.27

na padārthā na ca jagatsatyamātmani yoginaḥ .
madhuraṃ kaṭutāmeti kaṭubhāvena cintitam .. 27

Neither objects nor the world are real to the yogin in the Self; / the sweet becomes bitter when thought of with the attitude of bitterness,

26. [Sanskrit available] The whole life-time of Vishnu, is but one day of the sedate Siva; for one whose mind is motionless in his fixed meditation, is unconscious of the change of days and nights and of seasons and years. (Since the meditative mind is insensible of the fluctuation of its ideas, or that there is an utter quietus of them in the quietism of the Yogi's mind).

27. [Sanskrit available] There is no substance nor the substantive world, in the mind of the meditative Yogi (who views them in their abstract light); and to whom the sweet pleasures of the world, appear as bitter, as they are thought to be the bane of his true felicity.

3.60.28

kaṭu cāyāti mādhuryaṃ madhuratvena cintitam .
mitrabuddhyā dviṣanmitraṃ ripubuddhyā ripuḥ suhṛt .. 28

and the bitter becomes sweet when thought of as sweetness; / with the notion of a friend an enemy is a friend, and with the notion of an enemy a friend is an enemy.

27. [Sanskrit available] There is no substance nor the substantive world, in the mind of the meditative Yogi (who views them in their abstract light); and to whom the sweet pleasures of the world, appear as bitter, as they are thought to be the bane of his true felicity.

28. [Sanskrit available] The bitter seems to be sweet, by being thought to be so; and what is unfavorable, becomes favorable as that which is friendly comes to be unfriendly by being taken in their contrary senses. (The mind can make a heaven of hell and a hell of a heaven. Milton).

3.60.29

bhavatīti mahābāho yathāsaṃvedanaṃ jagat .
anabhyastāḥ padārthā ye śāstrapāṭhajapādayaḥ .. 29

Thus it occurs, O mighty-armed one, that the world is in accordance with one's experience. / Matters that are unpracticed, such as the recitation of scripture and silent prayers,

28. [Sanskrit available] The bitter seems to be sweet, by being thought to be so; and what is unfavorable, becomes favorable as that which is friendly comes to be unfriendly by being taken in their contrary senses. (The mind can make a heaven of hell and a hell of a heaven. Milton).

29. [Sanskrit available] Thus Rama! it is by habitual meditation, that we gain the abstract knowledge of things; as on the other hand we forget what we learnt, by want of their recapitulation. (Habit is second nature, and practice is the parent of productions).

3.60.30

teṣāṃ saṃvedanābhyāsānnūnamabhyeti sāmyatā .
nauyāyināṃ bhramārtānāṃ vedanādbhūrvivartate .. 30

surely attain familiarity through the habit of experiencing them. / For travelers on a boat who are distressed by dizziness, the earth seems to revolve because of their perception;

29. [Sanskrit available] Thus Rama! it is by habitual meditation, that we gain the abstract knowledge of things; as on the other hand we forget what we learnt, by want of their recapitulation. (Habit is second nature, and practice is the parent of productions).

30. [Sanskrit available] These by their habitude of thinking, find every thing in a state of positive rest; while the unthinking fall into the errors of the revolutionary world, as a boat-passenger thinks the land and objects on the shore, to be receding from and revolving around him.

3.60.31

avedanābhramārtānāmapi naiṣāṃ vivartate .
śūnyamākīrṇatāmeti vedanātsvapnadṛkṣviva .. 31

yet through non-perception it does not revolve, even for those suffering from dizziness. / The empty space attains crowdedness through perception, as among dreamers.

30. [Sanskrit available] These by their habitude of thinking, find every thing in a state of positive rest; while the unthinking fall into the errors of the revolutionary world, as a boat-passenger thinks the land and objects on the shore, to be receding from and revolving around him.

31. [Sanskrit available] Thus the unthinking part of mankind, and those wandering in their error, think the world to be moving about them; but the thinking mind, sees the whole as an empty void, and full of phantoms, as one sees in his dream.

3.60.32

vedanātpītamānīlaṃ śuklaṃ vāpyanubhūyate .
āpadvadutsavaḥ khedaṃ karoti parimohataḥ .. 32

Through perception, yellow, dark blue, or white is experienced; / through deep delusion, a festive occasion causes distress like a calamity.

31. [Sanskrit available] Thus the unthinking part of mankind, and those wandering in their error, think the world to be moving about them; but the thinking mind, sees the whole as an empty void, and full of phantoms, as one sees in his dream.

32. [Sanskrit available] It is the thought (erroneous conception), that shows the white as black and blue; and it is the mistake of judgement, that makes one rejoice or sorrow at the events of life.

3.60.33

kuḍye'pi kha ivācāro dṛṣṭo nanvavicāriṇaḥ .
asadyakṣo vimūḍhānāṃ prāṇānapyapakarṣati .. 33

Behavior as if in empty space is seen even in a solid wall by an unreflective person; / an unreal yakṣa snatches away even the vital breaths of the deluded.

32. [Sanskrit available] It is the thought (erroneous conception), that shows the white as black and blue; and it is the mistake of judgement, that makes one rejoice or sorrow at the events of life.

33. [Sanskrit available] The unthinking are led to imagine a house where there is none; and the ignorant are infatuated to the belief of ghosts, as they are the killers of their lives.

3.60.34

vedanātsvapnavanitā jāgratīva ratipradā .
yadyathābhāsamāyātaṃ tattathā sthiratāṃ gatam .. 34

Through perception, a woman in a dream brings sexual pleasure as if in the waking state; / whatever appears in whatever manner, that has attained stability in that very way.

33. [Sanskrit available] The unthinking are led to imagine a house where there is none; and the ignorant are infatuated to the belief of ghosts, as they are the killers of their lives.

34. [Sanskrit available] It is reminiscence or memory, which raises the dream as her consort;and which represents things as they are presented to it, by the thoughts of the waking state.

3.60.35

asadeva nabhaścaiva nabha eva cidātmani .
śatahastāmbudacchāyānaṭanṛttamivātatam .. 35

Unreal space, indeed just space within the nature of consciousness, / is spread out like the dancing performance of the shadow of a cloud with a hundred hands.

34. [Sanskrit available] It is reminiscence or memory, which raises the dream as her consort;and which represents things as they are presented to it, by the thoughts of the waking state.

35. [Sanskrit available] The dream is as unreal as the empty vacuity, abiding in the hollow receptacle of the intellectual soul; it overspreads the mind like the shadow of a cloud, and fills it with images like those of a puppet-show under the magic lantern.

3.60.36

gagane mānasaṃ spandaṃ jagadviddhi na vastu tat .
mithyājñānapiśācasya spandadarśanamākṛti .. 36

Know the world to be a mental vibration in the sky, not an actual substance; / the form is merely the seeing of vibration belonging to the goblin of false knowledge.

35. [Sanskrit available] The dream is as unreal as the empty vacuity, abiding in the hollow receptacle of the intellectual soul; it overspreads the mind like the shadow of a cloud, and fills it with images like those of a puppet-show under the magic lantern.

36. [Sanskrit available] Know the phenomena of the revolving worlds, to be no more in reality, than mere resultants of the vibrations of the mind, in the empty space of the soul; and as the motions and gestures of the fancied hobgoblins, to the sight of children.

3.60.37

māyāmātrakamevedamarodhakamabhittimat .
idaṃ bhāsvaramābhātaṃ svapnasaṃdarśanaṃ sthitam .. 37

This is mere cosmic illusion, unobstructed and without supporting walls; / this shining appearance stands as a perception seen in a dream.

36. [Sanskrit available] Know the phenomena of the revolving worlds, to be no more in reality, than mere resultants of the vibrations of the mind, in the empty space of the soul; and as the motions and gestures of the fancied hobgoblins, to the sight of children.

37. [Sanskrit available] All this is but a magical illusion, without any substance or basis of itself; and all these imposing scenes of vision, are but the empty and aerial sights of dreams.

3.60.38

apūrvamevāsuptasya narasyevoditaṃ viduḥ .
acetā cetati stambho yādṛśaṃ śālabhañjikām .. 38

The wise know it has arisen just like a novel thing to a waking man; / just as an insentient pillar perceives a carved wooden figure,

37. [Sanskrit available] All this is but a magical illusion, without any substance or basis of itself; and all these imposing scenes of vision, are but the empty and aerial sights of dreams.

38. [Sanskrit available] Just as the waking man, beholds the wondrous world before him, so also does sleeping man see the same; and both of them resemble the insensible pillar, which finds the images of statues engraved upon it: (because the soul is ever awake in every state of all living bodies).

3.60.39

paramārthamahāstambhaḥ sṛṣṭiṃ cetati sādṛśam .
yādṛśo me naraḥ pārśve svapne kṣubdho mahābhaṭaiḥ .. 39

so the great pillar of the supreme reality perceives creation. / Just as a man beside me is agitated in a dream by mighty warriors,

38. [Sanskrit available] Just as the waking man, beholds the wondrous world before him, so also does sleeping man see the same; and both of them resemble the insensible pillar, which finds the images of statues engraved upon it: (because the soul is ever awake in every state of all living bodies).

39. [Sanskrit available] The great monument of the Divine Spirit, has the figure of the created world, carved in itself in the same manner, as I see a troop of soldiers passing before me in my dream. (All these appear to be in action, in their true state of nullity and inaction).

3.60.40

tādṛśo brahmaṇaḥ svargo buddha eva suṣuptavat .
tṛṇagulmalatāyuktaḥ śiśirānte yathā rasaḥ .. 40

such is the heaven of Brahmā, awake only like deep sleep. / Just as at the end of the cool season the sap of spring remains in the earth,

39. [Sanskrit available] The great monument of the Divine Spirit, has the figure of the created world, carved in itself in the same manner, as I see a troop of soldiers passing before me in my dream. (All these appear to be in action, in their true state of nullity and inaction).

40. [Sanskrit available] So is this waking world asleep in the soul of Brahma, and rises in his mind as the vegetable world springs from the sap lying hid in the earth, which gives it its growth and vernal bloom.

3.60.41

vāsantaḥ saṃsthito bhūmau tathā sargaḥ pare pade .
yathā dravatvaṃ kanake sthitamantaranunmiṣat .. 41

endowed with grass, shrubs, and creepers, so does creation reside in the supreme state; / just as fluidity exists unmanifest within gold,

40. [Sanskrit available] So is this waking world asleep in the soul of Brahma, and rises in his mind as the vegetable world springs from the sap lying hid in the earth, which gives it its growth and vernal bloom.

41. [Sanskrit available] So likewise does the creation lie hid in, and spring from the Supreme Spirit; as the brightness of gold ornaments is contained in, and comes out of the material metal. (The Divine Spirit is both the material and efficient cause of creation—ex quo & a quo.)

3.60.42

tathā sthitaḥ pare sarga ātmavargādaṇāvaṇau .
saṃniveśo yathāṅgānāmaṅgino'nanya ātmanaḥ .. 42

so creation resides in the Supreme, from its own collection of essences, in atom after atom. / Just as the arrangement of limbs is not different from the body that possesses them,

41. [Sanskrit available] So likewise does the creation lie hid in, and spring from the Supreme Spirit; as the brightness of gold ornaments is contained in, and comes out of the material metal. (The Divine Spirit is both the material and efficient cause of creation—ex quo & a quo.)

42. [Sanskrit available]
Every atom of creation, is settled in the plenum of Divine spirit; as all the members of the body, are set in the person of their possessor.

3.60.43

jagadevamanaṅgasya svātmano brahmaṇastathā .
yādṛgekanaraḥ svapne yuddhamanyaṃ naraṃ prati .. 43

so this world is not different from the bodiless Self, from Brahman. / Just as a single man in a dream fights against another man,

42. [Sanskrit available]
Every atom of creation, is settled in the plenum of Divine spirit; as all the members of the body, are set in the person of their possessor.

43. [Sanskrit available] The visible world has the same relation, to the bodiless and undivided spirit of God; as one fighting in a dream bears to his antagonist (both believing in their reality, while both of them are unreal in their bodies).

3.60.44

tādṛśaṃ sadasadrūpaṃ svātmedaṃ vyomagaṃ jagat .
mahākalpāntasargādau citsvabhāvamidaṃ jagat .. 44

so this ethereal world, possessing real and unreal form, is one's own Self; / at the beginning of creation after a great eon, this world is of the nature of consciousness alone.

43. [Sanskrit available] The visible world has the same relation, to the bodiless and undivided spirit of God; as one fighting in a dream bears to his antagonist (both believing in their reality, while both of them are unreal in their bodies).

44. [Sanskrit available] Thus the real and unreal, the spirit and the world, all dwindled into vacuum, at the great Kalpanta annihilation of creation, except the intellect of God which comprises the world in itself.

3.60.45

kāraṇatvaṃ mithaḥ paścādasadeti na vāstavam .
mukte'sminbrahmaṇi yadi brahmānyaḥ smṛtijo bhavet .
tatsmṛtijñaptije sarge sthitaiva jñaptimātratā .. 45

Mutual causality later on is unreal and not actual. / When this Brahmā is liberated, if another Brahmā arises born of memory, / in the creation born of the knowledge of that memory, it remains nothing but consciousness.

44. [Sanskrit available] Thus the real and unreal, the spirit and the world, all dwindled into vacuum, at the great Kalpanta annihilation of creation, except the intellect of God which comprises the world in itself.

45. [Sanskrit available] The causality of the one (i. e. the spirit of God), and the unreality of the world cannot be true (since nothing unreal can come out of the real). Except Brahm—the all (to pan), there is no other cause, as a Brahma or any other; the Divine Intelligence is the only cause and constituent of its productions.

3.60.46

śrīrāma uvāca .
paurāṇāṃ mantrimukhyānāṃ vidūrathakulakramaḥ .
samameva kathaṃ tatra sarveṣāṃ pratibhāsitaḥ .. 46

The illustrious Rāma said:
How did the ancestral lineage of Vidūratha appear / in the exact same manner simultaneously to all the citizens and principal ministers there?

45. [Sanskrit available] The causality of the one (i. e. the spirit of God), and the unreality of the world cannot be true (since nothing unreal can come out of the real). Except Brahm—the all (to pan), there is no other cause, as a Brahma or any other; the Divine Intelligence is the only cause and constituent of its productions.

Rama asked said:—
46. [Sanskrit available] But what cause was it that represented the citizens, counsellors and ministers of Viduratha's royal house also to Lila's vision, in the same manner as her lord the king (who was alone the object of her thought)?

3.60.47

śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca .
citaḥ samanuvartante mukhyāyāḥ sarvasaṃvidaḥ .
yathā vipulavātyāyāḥ sāmānyā vātalekhikāḥ .. 47

The venerable Vasiṣṭha said:
All individual experiences follow the principal consciousness, / just as ordinary streaks of wind follow a great whirlwind.

Rama asked said:—
46. [Sanskrit available] But what cause was it that represented the citizens, counsellors and ministers of Viduratha's royal house also to Lila's vision, in the same manner as her lord the king (who was alone the object of her thought)?

Vasishtha said:—
47. [Sanskrit available]
All other thoughts are associated with the principal one in the intellect, in the same manner as the high winds are accompaniments of the storm.

3.60.48

parasparānusāreṇa tathārūpeṇa saṃvidaḥ .
kacitāstāḥ prajāpālaprajāvāstavyamantriṇaḥ .. 48

In accordance with one another, in that specific form, experiences / shone forth among those protectors of subjects, subjects, residents, and ministers:

Vasishtha said:—
47. [Sanskrit available]
All other thoughts are associated with the principal one in the intellect, in the same manner as the high winds are accompaniments of the storm.

48. [Sanskrit available] The association of thoughts, follows one another in a long and perpetual train; and caused the succession of the sights of the ministers, citizens and subjects of the king, in Lila's vision one after the other.

3.60.49

evaṃrūpātkulājjāto rājāsmākamayaṃ tvasau .
kacitā iva vāstavyavido vaidūrathe pure .. 49

'Born from such a family, this indeed is our king'— / thus it shone forth, as it were, in the perceptions of the residents in Vidūratha's city.

48. [Sanskrit available] The association of thoughts, follows one another in a long and perpetual train; and caused the succession of the sights of the ministers, citizens and subjects of the king, in Lila's vision one after the other.

49. [Sanskrit available] In this way the thought that the king was born of such and such a family, naturally introduced the thoughts of his palace and city, and of those that dwelt in them.

3.60.50

kacane citsvabhāvasya na ca kāraṇamārgaṇam .
yuktaṃ mahāmaṇerbhāsāmivānyatra svabhāvataḥ .. 50

In the manifestation of the nature of consciousness, searching for a cause is not fitting, / just as searching for a cause elsewhere than its own nature is not fitting for the radiance of a great gem.

49. [Sanskrit available] In this way the thought that the king was born of such and such a family, naturally introduced the thoughts of his palace and city, and of those that dwelt in them.

50. [Sanskrit available] It is in vain to enquire into the cause and manner, of the intellect's being combined with its thoughts at all times; since it is called the gem of thoughts (Chintamani), and must be always accompanied with its radiating thoughts, like a brilliant gem with its rays (i. e. thinking is the inseparable attribute of the mind).

3.60.51

ahamevaṃ kulācāre rājā syāmevamityapi .
vidūrathavido ratnāduditā pratibhā yathā .. 51

'I should be the king in such family conduct, in this way'— / such insight arose from the jewel of consciousness of Vidūratha.

50. [Sanskrit available] It is in vain to enquire into the cause and manner, of the intellect's being combined with its thoughts at all times; since it is called the gem of thoughts (Chintamani), and must be always accompanied with its radiating thoughts, like a brilliant gem with its rays (i. e. thinking is the inseparable attribute of the mind).

51. [Sanskrit available] Padma thought to become a king like Viduratha, in the proper discharge of the duties of his royal family; and this constant thought of himself as such, cast the mould of the mind and manner of Viduratha upon him (i. e. he looked himself in the light of that king).

3.60.52

yāvanto jantavo yasminye ye sarge yadā yadā .
te sarvagatvācciddhātoranyonyādarśatāṃ gatāḥ .. 52

As many living beings as there are in whatever creation at whatever time, / they, due to the omnipresence of the element of consciousness, have become mirrors to one another.

51. [Sanskrit available] Padma thought to become a king like Viduratha, in the proper discharge of the duties of his royal family; and this constant thought of himself as such, cast the mould of the mind and manner of Viduratha upon him (i. e. he looked himself in the light of that king).

52. [Sanskrit available] All animate beings of every kind, are but models of their own thoughts, like looking-glasses showing their inward reflections to the sight. (The innate man appearing in his outward figure, is a verity in physiognomy).

3.60.53

tīvravegavatī yā syāttatra saṃvidakampitā .
saivāyāti paraṃ sthairyamāmokṣaṃ tvekarūpiṇī .. 53

Whatever consciousness there may be that is intensely forceful and unwavering, / that alone attains supreme stability, uniform in form until liberation.

52. [Sanskrit available] All animate beings of every kind, are but models of their own thoughts, like looking-glasses showing their inward reflections to the sight. (The innate man appearing in his outward figure, is a verity in physiognomy).

53. [Sanskrit available] The mind which is fixed in the meditation of God, and remains unshaken amidst the turmoils of the world; is fraught with perfect rest, and preserves the composure of the soul, until its final liberation from the bondage of the body.

3.60.54

balavaccidvilāsānāmanuvṛttyā parasparam .
svabhāvāḥ pratibimbanti cidādarśe svabhāvataḥ .. 54

Through conformity with the forceful play of consciousness mutually, / individual natures are naturally reflected in the mirror of consciousness.

53. [Sanskrit available] The mind which is fixed in the meditation of God, and remains unshaken amidst the turmoils of the world; is fraught with perfect rest, and preserves the composure of the soul, until its final liberation from the bondage of the body.

54. [Sanskrit available] But the thoughts of the fluctuating enjoyments of this world, alternately represented in the mirror of the mind, like the shadows of passing scenes upon a looking glass.

3.60.55

tatrātiyatnājjayati satyāḥ saṃvida ātmasāt .
kurvanti saridambhodhigāminī sarito yathā .. 55

There, through intense effort, the true experiences prevail and absorb [the weaker], / just as a river rushing toward the ocean absorbs other streams.

54. [Sanskrit available] But the thoughts of the fluctuating enjoyments of this world, alternately represented in the mirror of the mind, like the shadows of passing scenes upon a looking glass.

55. [Sanskrit available] It requires therefore a great force of the mind, to overcome its worldly thoughts, and turn them to the channel of truth; as the greater force of the main current of a river, leads its tributaries to the ocean.

3.60.56

ye samāstatra te tāvadyatante citsvabhāvataḥ .
yāvadeko jayatyatra dvitīyaḥ sa nimajjati .. 56

Those that are equal there strive according to the nature of consciousness / until one here conquers and the other sinks away.

55. [Sanskrit available] It requires therefore a great force of the mind, to overcome its worldly thoughts, and turn them to the channel of truth; as the greater force of the main current of a river, leads its tributaries to the ocean.

56. [Sanskrit available] But the mind is greatly disturbed, when the worldly and spiritual thoughts, press it with equal force to both ways; and it is then, that the greater force leads it onward in either way. (There is no midway like that of the Madhyamikas between this world and the next). Gloss. The worldly and spiritual thoughts being equally forcible, they naturally struggle in the mind, and that which is of greater force overcomes the other.

3.60.57

jāyamāneṣu naśyatsu vartamāneṣu bhūriśaḥ .
evaṃ sargasahasreṣu paramāṇukaṇaṃ prati .. 57

While thousands of creations are being born, perishing, and persisting in abundance / in this manner within every single subtle atom,

56. [Sanskrit available] But the mind is greatly disturbed, when the worldly and spiritual thoughts, press it with equal force to both ways; and it is then, that the greater force leads it onward in either way. (There is no midway like that of the Madhyamikas between this world and the next). Gloss. The worldly and spiritual thoughts being equally forcible, they naturally struggle in the mind, and that which is of greater force overcomes the other.

57. [Sanskrit available] Such is the case with all the myriads of beings, whether they are living, dead or to come to life; and the same accidents take place in the particles of all human minds (like the concussions of atomic forces).

3.60.58

na kiṃcitkenaciddhyāptaṃ na kiṃcitkenacitsthitam .
cidākāśamidaṃ śāntamataḥ sarvamabhittimat .. 58

nothing has been pervaded by anything, nothing has stood through anything; / this space of consciousness is tranquil, therefore everything is without walls.

57. [Sanskrit available] Such is the case with all the myriads of beings, whether they are living, dead or to come to life; and the same accidents take place in the particles of all human minds (like the concussions of atomic forces).

58. [Sanskrit available] All this is the empty sphere of the Intellect, all quiet and without any basis or substratum. It is neither peopled nor filled by any thing except its own native thoughts.

3.60.59

ayamābhāsate svapno nirnidro dṛṣṭivarjitaḥ .
avaśyaṃbhāvibodhastu svanubhūto'pyasanmayaḥ .. 59

This dream shines forth, sleepless and devoid of sight; / the awareness that is bound to occur, though experienced by oneself, is composed of unreality.

58. [Sanskrit available] All this is the empty sphere of the Intellect, all quiet and without any basis or substratum. It is neither peopled nor filled by any thing except its own native thoughts.

59. [Sanskrit available] All these appear as dreams, even in our unsleeping states, and have no form or figure in the sight of the wise. The perception of their positive existence, is but a misconception of their negative inexistence.

3.60.60

patrapuṣpaphalāṃśātmā yathaikaḥ svāsthito drumaḥ .
anantasarvaśaktyātmā hyeka eva tathā vibhuḥ .. 60

Just as a single tree abides in itself, consisting of parts such as leaves, flowers, and fruits, / so the all-pervading Lord alone is one, consisting of endless and all-encompassing powers.

59. [Sanskrit available] All these appear as dreams, even in our unsleeping states, and have no form or figure in the sight of the wise. The perception of their positive existence, is but a misconception of their negative inexistence.

60. [Sanskrit available] There really exists but one omnipotent and all pervasive Spirit, which shows itself in diverse forms like the flowers, fruits and leaves of trees, all appearing from the self-same woody trunk (which like the great Brahma is the origin of all its off-shoots.)

3.60.61

mātṛmeyapramāṇādimāyātmakamajaṃ padam .
buddhaṃ vismṛtimāyāti na kadācana kasyacit .. 61

The un unborn state, which is the cosmic illusion consisting of the knower, the object of knowledge, and the means of knowledge, / once realized, never goes to oblivion for anyone at any time.

60. [Sanskrit available] There really exists but one omnipotent and all pervasive Spirit, which shows itself in diverse forms like the flowers, fruits and leaves of trees, all appearing from the self-same woody trunk (which like the great Brahma is the origin of all its off-shoots.)

61. [Sanskrit available] He who knows the increate Brahma to be the measurer, measure and the thing measured (i. e. the creator, created and the creation), to be all one and himself, can never forget this certain truth of unity, nor ever fall into the error of dualism of the cause and effect.

3.60.62

śūnyodayāstamayavastu tamaḥprakāśaṃ
dikkālarūpyapi sadaikamanādiśuddham .
ādyantamadhyarahitaṃ sthitamacchamambu
saumyatvavīcivalanāḍhyamivaikameva .. 62

The void entity that neither rises nor sets, beyond darkness and light,
though appearing as space and time, is ever one, beginningless, and pure,
devoid of beginning, end, and middle, standing like clear water alone,
as if rich with gentleness and rolling waves.

61. [Sanskrit available] He who knows the increate Brahma to be the measurer, measure and the thing measured (i. e. the creator, created and the creation), to be all one and himself, can never forget this certain truth of unity, nor ever fall into the error of dualism of the cause and effect.

62. [Sanskrit available] There is but one Being (SAT), who is Holy and without beginning; and who, though he appears to be of the forms of light and darkness, and of space and time, doth never rise nor set anywhere. He is without beginning, middle or end; and remains as a vast expanse of water, exhibiting itself in its waves and currents.

3.60.63

ahaṃtvamityādijagatsvarūpā
viśuddhabodhaikavibhā vibhāti .
ākāśakośe nijaśūnyateva
dvaitaikyasaṃkalpavikalpanācca .. 63

Taking the form of the world as 'I', 'you', and the like,
the single radiance of pure awareness shines forth,
like its own emptiness in the expanse of space,
arising from the conceiving of duality and unity.

63. [Sanskrit available] The notion of myself, thyself and the objective world, are but effusions of our perverted understandings; and it is ignorance only that shows the One as many within the Sheath of the mind, according as it imagines it to be.

62. [Sanskrit available] There is but one Being (SAT), who is Holy and without beginning; and who, though he appears to be of the forms of light and darkness, and of space and time, doth never rise nor set anywhere. He is without beginning, middle or end; and remains as a vast expanse of water, exhibiting itself in its waves and currents.

3.60.63_3

ityārṣe śrīvāsiṣṭhamahārāmāyaṇe vālmīkīye mokṣopāyeṣūtpattiprakaraṇe līlo0 prayojanavarṇanaṃ nāma ṣaṣṭitamaḥ sargaḥ .. 60 ..

Thus ends the sixtieth chapter, named 'Description of the Purpose in the Story of Līlā', in the section on arising in the Mokṣopāya of the venerable and great Rāmāyaṇa of Vasiṣṭha composed by Vālmīki.