Vasiṣṭha's teaching (Mahārāmāyaṇa) 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1 — 47 parts
2.2 — 31 parts
2.3 — 41 parts
2.4 — 20 parts
2.5 — 33 parts
2.6 — 42 parts
2.7 — 33 parts
2.8 — 27 parts
2.9 — 45 parts
2.10 — 46 parts
2.11 — 75 parts
2.12 — 22 parts
2.13 — 85 parts
2.14 — 56 parts
2.15 — 23 parts
2.16 — 37 parts
2.17 — 52 parts
2.18 — 73 parts
2.19 — 38 parts
2.20 — 18 parts

2.1.2

Vālmīki said:
When these words were spoken with a great roar by those assembled in the hall, / Viśvāmitra affectionately addressed Rāma, who stood before him: (1)

2.1.3

O Raghava, best of the knowledgeable, there is nothing else for you to know. / By your own subtle intellect you have understood everything. (2)

2.1.4

Only a mere wiping away is needed, just a little, / upon the mirror of your own intellect, which is naturally pure forever. (3)

2.1.5

Your intellect is like that of Śuka, the son of the venerable Vyāsa; / even though it has known the knowable, it requires only an inner rest. (4)

2.1.6

Śrī Rāma said:
Reverend Sir, how was it that the mind of Śuka, the son of the venerable Vyāsa, / did not rest at first in the knowable, and then rested again through the intellect? (5)

2.1.7

Viśvāmitra said:
Listen, O Rāma, as I tell this story of the son of Vyāsa, / which is just like your own story and is the cause of the end of births: (6)

2.1.8

The venerable Vyāsa, who shines like the sun and resembles a mountain of collyrium, / is seated here beside your father upon a golden throne. (7)

2.1.9

He had a moon-faced son, skilled in prudent conduct, / named Śuka, exceedingly wise, who was like sacrificial worship firmly established in bodily form. (8)

2.1.10

As he deeply reflected in his heart upon this course of worldly life as impure, / there arose in him this discernment, just as in you. (9)

2.1.11

By means of that discernment of his own, that high-minded one, on his own, / reflected well for a long time and attained that which is the truth. (10)

2.1.12

Though he had himself reached the supreme reality, his mind remained unrested; / he could not arrive at the conviction in himself: “This is the reality.” (11)

2.1.13

Only, his mind ceased its agitation and turned away / from enjoyments subject to manifold destruction, like a cātaka bird from showers of rain. (12)

2.1.14

Once, endowed with pure intelligence, he asked his father with devotion— / the sage Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, who was seated in solitude on Mount Meru: (13)

2.1.15

“O sage, how did this pomp of transmigratory existence arise? / And how does it attain quiescence? To what extent, to whom, and when?” (14)

2.1.16

Thus questioned by his son, the sage Vyāsa, who knew the Self, / declared to him everything truly and purely, exactly as it ought to be told. (15)

2.1.17

Thinking, “I knew this already before,” through his bright intellect / that Śuka did not set great store by his father’s words. (16)

2.1.18

The venerable Vyāsa, too, having perceived such an intention in his son, / replied again to him: “I do not know [it] in truth. (17)

2.1.19

There is a king named Janaka on the face of the earth; / he knows the knowable as it truly is. From him you will obtain everything.” (18)

2.1.20

When told this by his father, Śuka departed from Mount Sumeru to the surface of the earth; / he reached the city of Videha, ruled over by Janaka. (19)

2.1.21

He was announced to the high-minded Janaka by the staff-bearers: / “O King, Śuka, the son of Vyāsa, is standing here at the door.” (20)

2.1.22

In order to test Śuka, Janaka said dismissively, / “Let him stay right there,” and then remained silent for seven days. (21)

2.1.23

Then Janaka had Śuka enter the courtyard; / there he lived for seven days in the very same way, undisturbed in mind. (22)

2.1.24

Then Janaka made Śuka enter the inner quarters; / and for seven days the king was not to be seen. (23)

2.1.25

There Janaka pampered Śuka, whose face was like the moon, / with voluptuous women, foods, and a heap of luxuries. (24)

2.1.26

Those pleasures and those discomforts did not disturb the mind of Vyāsa’s son, / just as gentle breezes do not move a firmly seated mountain. (25)

2.1.27

Entirely tranquil, established in himself, silent, and joyful at heart, / Śuka remained there like the full moon. (26)

2.1.28

Having recognized Śuka’s nature, King Janaka / saw him brought in with a joyful mind, and bowed to him. (27)

2.1.29

Having welcomed him, he promptly addressed him: / “You who have completed all the duties of the world and attained every wish, what do you desire?” (28)

2.1.30

Śrī Śuka said:
O teacher, how did this pomp of transmigratory existence arise? / How does it attain quiescence? Tell me quickly as it truly is. (29)

2.1.31

Viśvāmitra said:
Thus questioned by Śuka, Janaka then told him / the very same thing that had previously been told by his high-minded father. (30)

2.1.32

Śrī Śuka said:
I myself had already known this previously through discernment, / and the very same thing was declared by my father when questioned. (31)

2.1.33

You too, best of those who know speech, have stated this very same matter; / and this very meaning of the words is seen in the sacred scriptures, (32)

namely: this transmigratory existence, which has arisen from one’s own conceptualization, / is destroyed through the destruction of one’s own conceptualization; it is worthless—such is the certainty. (33)

2.1.35

Therefore, O mighty-armed one, tell me the immovable truth regarding what this is. / From you may I find rest, my mind having wandered through the world. (34)

2.1.36

Janaka said:
O sage, there is no other certainty beyond this. / You have known it yourself, and heard it again from your teacher. (35)

2.1.37

Here there is only one Spirit, whose nature is uninterrupted consciousness, and nothing else. / Bound by the power of one’s own volition, one is liberated when free of volition. (36)

2.1.38

By you, a high-minded one who turned away from enjoyments / and from all that is visible prior to this, the knowable has clearly been known. (37)

2.1.39

O child, O mighty hero, your mind has attained detachment / from enjoyments, which are chronic illnesses. What else do you wish to hear? (38)

2.1.40

Fullness was not attained in such a manner by your father, a great treasury of all knowledge, / who remains engaged in vast ascetic penance, as it has been by you. (39)

2.1.41

I am indeed superior to Vyāsa, and you are Vyāsa’s disciple and son; / yet through the attenuation of desire for enjoyment in this world, you are even far superior to me. (40)

2.1.42

With a mind that is full, you have attained all that is to be attained. / You do not fall into the visible, O holy one. You are liberated; cast away delusion. (41)

2.1.43

Instructed thus by the high-minded Janaka, / Śuka remained silent in the pure, supreme reality. (42)

2.1.44

Free from sorrow, fear, and weariness, devoid of desire, his doubts severed, / he went to a blameless peak of Meru for the sake of samādhi. (43)

2.1.45

Having remained there for ten thousand years in indeterminate absorption, / he was extinguished in the Self, like a lamp without oil. (44)

2.1.46

Pure, with the stain of mental fabrication gone, / that high-minded one, in the pure, immaculate Self, the holy state, / with latent impressions fallen away, reached oneness, like a drop of water in the ocean. (45)

2.1.47

Thus ends the first canto, named “The Departure of Śuka,” in the section on the conduct of the seeker of liberation, in the holy, venerable Vāsiṣṭha-Mahārāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki. 1

2.2.1

Second Canto 2

2.2.2

Viśvāmitra said: / Just as a mere wiping away of impurity was needed for that son of Vyāsa, / so only that much is needed for you, Rāma. 1

2.2.3

O lords of sages, everything that is to be known has been fully comprehended by him; / for sensual pleasures do not delight this wise one, just as diseases do not. 2

2.2.4

For this indeed is the certain mark of a mind that has known what is to be known: / that whole hosts of worldly pleasures do not delight it any longer. 3

2.2.5

Through dwelling on worldly pleasures, bondage—which has no real substance—becomes firm; / when that [dwelling] is quieted, bondage in this world is reduced to weakness. 4

2.2.6

The thinning of latent impressions is called liberation by the wise, O Rāma; / the firmness of latent impressions toward worldly objects is called bondage. 5

2.2.7

Access to the truth of one’s own Self generally comes to men, / O sage, when distaste for sense objects arises through [seeing] their worthlessness. 6

2.2.8

He who sees rightly is a knower of that truth; he is the learned one who has known what is to be known. / To that great-souled one, worldly pleasures, even by force, bring no delight. 7

2.2.9

He who has no taste for pleasures on earth, even without any cause such as fame, / is called one liberated while living. 8

2.2.10

As long as what is to be known is not known, so long does there not arise

2.2.11

a creature's disaffection for sense objects, like a creeper in a desert. 9

2.2.12

Therefore, know the scion of Raghu to be one who has known what is to be known, / since these charming spheres of worldly enjoyment do not captivate him. 10

2.2.13

Hearing from the mouth of the virtuous that the reality is indeed what he knows within, / Rāma will attain rest for his mind, O lords of sages. 11

2.2.14

Rāma’s intellect only awaits rest in the state of aloneness, / just as the beauty of autumn awaits its culmination. 12

2.2.15

Here, for the mental rest of this great-souled descendant of Raghu, / let this illustrious and venerable Vasiṣṭha explain the means. 13

2.2.16

He is the master and perpetual family preceptor of all the Raghus, / omniscient, the witness of all, whose clear sight extends through the three times. 14

2.2.17

O venerable Vasiṣṭha, surely you recall what / was formerly taught in abundance by the lotus-born Lord himself, 15

2.2.18

on the slope of Mount Niṣadha, crowded with pine trees, to the sages, / for the pacification of our enmity and for the welfare of the great-minded: 16

2.2.19

the knowledge endowed with reasoning, O Brahman, by which this worldly / latent impression indeed attains quiescence, just as darkness does by the sun. 17

2.2.20

O Brahman, quickly teach to Rāma, your close disciple, that very knowledge / endowed with reasoning, through which he will attain rest. 18

2.2.21

And this will not be a vexation, for Rāma is free of taint; / in a clear mirror, a face is reflected without any effort. 19

2.2.22

O noble one, that is true knowledge, that is the meaning of the scriptures, and that is your faultless wisdom, / which is taught to a good disciple who has attained dispassion. 20

2.2.23

Whatever is taught to a non-disciple who lacks dispassion / goes to impurity, like cow's milk in a dog’s skin bag. 21

2.2.24

Where those like you speak—free from passion, fear, and anger, devoid of pride, and cleansed of sin— / there the intellect finds rest in this world. 22

2.2.25

When this was spoken by the son of Gādhi, those sages, / led by Vyāsa and Nārada, praised that very matter, saying, “Well said! Well said!” 23

2.2.26

Then the venerable sage Vasiṣṭha, of great splendor, / seated beside the king like Brahmā beside Brahman's son, spoke: 24

2.2.27

Venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / O sage, I will carry out without obstacle whatever you enjoin upon me. / Who, even if capable, is able to transgress the word of the virtuous? 25

2.2.28

Indeed, I will quickly dispel with knowledge the mental darkness / of the princes, beginning with Rāma, as a lamp dispels the darkness of night. 26

2.2.29

I remember entirely and without break all the knowledge / formerly spoken by the lotus-born [Brahmā] on Mount Niṣadha to quiet the delusion of transmigratory existence. 27

2.2.30

Vālmīki said: / Having spoken thus, that great-souled Vasiṣṭha, / girding himself and assuming the majesty of an instructor, / declared this [teaching], which awakens one only to the supreme state, / for the quiescence of ignorance. 28

2.2.31

Thus ends the second canto, named “The Speech of Viśvāmitra,” in the section on the conduct of the seeker of liberation, in the holy, venerable Vāsiṣṭha-Mahārāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki.

2.3.1

Third Canto 3

2.3.2

Venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / That very knowledge which was declared of old by the lotus-born Lord / at the beginning of creation for the pacification of the world, I now declare. 1

2.3.3

Venerable Rāma said: / O venerable one, you will declare the extensive compendium on liberation; / but meanwhile, dispel this doubt that has arisen in me for a moment. 2

2.3.4

Why was the omniscient father of Śuka, the preceptor Vyāsa of great intellect, / not liberated out of the body, while that son of his was liberated? 3

2.3.5

Venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / The three worlds are particles of dust within the light of the supreme sun; / those that have repeatedly arisen and dissolved cannot be numbered. 4

2.3.6

And the tens of millions of groups of three worlds that currently exist / cannot by any means be counted by anyone at all. 5

2.3.7

The waves of creation of living beings that will arise in the supreme ocean— / there is no way even to speak of numbering them. 6

2.3.8

Venerable Rāma said: / The continuous successions of cosmic creations that have been and that will be—

2.3.9

an inquiry into them is proper, but what are the present ones like? 7

2.3.10

Venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / Whatever creature—animal, man, god, or the like—perishes, / in that very place and at that very time, he perceives this [world]: 8

2.3.11

under the designation “transmigrating,” within his own heart, the unborn [Self], / having the nature of space, experiences the three worlds in the void through the mental body. 9

2.3.12

In this way, tens of millions of beings have died, are dying, and will die, / each in the direction where worlds have arisen separately: 10

2.3.13

like a creation of volition, like the play of a daydream, / like an array of magic, like the appearance of the meaning of a tale, 11

2.3.14

like an earthquake caused by a violent wind, like a goblin to a frightened child, / like a string of pearls in the clear sky, like the movement of trees to one in a boat, 12

2.3.15

like an arrow in the consciousness of a dream, like a sky-flower born of memory— / the deceased one experiences within himself the transmigrating of the world. 13

2.3.16

There, through extreme transformation, that very thing becomes dense / and unfolds in the space of the living soul as “this present world.” 14

2.3.17

Then, having died right there and experiencing death and other states, / the deceased one again imagines another world in the same way. 15

2.3.18

Within that are other beings, and within them others still; / these appear as transmigratory existence, like the layers of a plantain tree.

2.3.19

There are no aggregates of gross elements like earth and the rest, nor any order of worlds; / even so, for those who have died, there are illusions of worlds there.

2.3.20

For this endless nescience shines with diverse expansions— / a long river of insentient beings, undulating with waves of creation.

2.3.21

In the vast ocean of the ultimate truth, O Rāma, the ripples of creation / follow one another again and again, both the very same and abundantly different.

2.3.22

Some are alike in all respects—in lineage, order, mind, and qualities; / some are half alike, and some are utterly distinct.

2.3.23

I remember the thirty-second Vyāsa there, [my friend],

2.3.24

as observed through the vision of knowledge of all possible things.

2.3.25

Twelve of dull intellect were there, alike in lineage, form, and deeds; / ten were identical in every appearance, and the rest differed in lineage.

2.3.26

Even today, other Vyāsas and Vālmīkis will come to be, / and likewise Bhṛgus, Aṅgirases, and Pulastyas, both identical and different.

2.3.27

Multitudes of humans, divine sages, and gods arise together / in abundance and dissolve, and sometimes they do so separately.

2.3.28

Seventy-two Tretā [yugas] of Brahmā have been, are, and will be; / and I know that you and I, and the worlds too, are both the same and different.

2.3.29

In this succession, this tenth incarnation is observed / of this far-seeing sage Vyāsa of wondrous deeds.

2.3.30

We have been united with Vyāsa and Vālmīki many times; / we ourselves have existed numerous times and separately;

2.3.31

we ourselves have existed alike, and as other knowers; / we ourselves have existed with diverse forms, though with the same disposition.

2.3.32

Surely, he is to exist here eight more times; / once again he will compose the Bhārata along with traditional history;

2.3.33

and having made the division of the Vedas, having brought fame to his family, / and having attained the state of Brahman, he will achieve disembodied liberation.

2.3.34

Free from sorrow and fear, his extinction tranquil, all conceptual construction gone, / liberated while living, his mind conquered—such is this Vyāsa described.

2.3.35

Beings are sometimes identical in wealth, country, age, action, learning, knowledge, and conduct, / but sometimes they are not.

2.3.36

In some places they exist for hundreds of creations, or they do not; / this cosmic illusion is ever thus without an end.

2.3.37

This succession of countless beings undergoes inversion,

2.3.38

like a heap of seeds constantly refilled again and again.

2.3.39

With that very same arrangement, and with another again and again, / the waves of the ocean of time proceed in the forms of creations.

2.3.40

His inner sense comforted, / his doubts pacified, full of the essence of his own true nature, / contented with the nectar of supreme tranquility, / the wise man abides unveiled.

2.3.41

Thus, in the sacred Mahārāmāyaṇa of Vasiṣṭha, composed by Vālmīki, in the section on the Conduct of the Seeker of Liberation, the third chapter, named 'Description of Successive Creations.'

2.4.1

The venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / Just as water remains water whether calm or in waves, / so in the ocean [of consciousness] the liberation of sages is the same, whether disembodied or embodied.

2.4.2

Whether embodied or disembodied, liberation does not concern sense objects; / for one who has not tasted an enjoyment, whence the experiences of what is to be enjoyed?

2.4.3

We see before us the best of sages, liberated while living, merely as an object; / an inner purpose is no longer an obstacle for him.

2.4.4

What distinction is there among those whose nature is pure consciousness, whether liberated with a body or without a body? / What is water in a wave is that very same thing in calm water.

2.4.5

There is not the slightest difference between embodied and disembodied liberation; / just as the wind is the wind itself, whether moving or unmoving.

2.4.6

Liberation, whether embodied or disembodied, is not an object of proof; / for us, it possesses its own indivisible oneness.

2.4.7

Therefore, listen to this which is at hand, an ornament to the ears, / the knowledge taught by me that destroys the blindness of ignorance.

2.4.8

For everything in this transmigratory existence is always obtained by all, / O joy of the Raghu lineage, through properly applied human effort.

2.4.9

Indeed, a cool delight arises in the heart like the moon / when the fruit of movement is attained through human effort alone, not from anything else.

2.4.10

Human effort is seen directly to yield the fruit of action, leading [to success]; / fate is merely imagined by dull and deluded people; it does not exist at all.

2.4.11

Action of the mind and body performed according to the path taught by noble ones / is true human effort and bears fruit; anything else is the act of a madman.

2.4.12

Whatever goal one desires, if one strives for that purpose in due course, / one surely attains it, provided one does not turn back midway.

2.4.13

Through human effort and exertion, a certain individual living being / attained the status of Indra, beautiful with dominion over the three worlds.

2.4.14

Through human effort alone, a certain radiance of consciousness / swiftly took seat upon the lotus-abode as Brahmā.

2.4.15

Through the essence of his own human effort, a certain person alone / became the bearer of the Garuḍa banner, the supreme person.

2.4.16

Through human effort alone, a certain embodied being here, / his form entwined with a woman, attained the state of the crescent-crested Śiva.

2.4.17

Know that human effort is of two kinds: past and present; / past [effort] is quickly conquered by present human effort.

2.4.18

By those who make effort, who have firm practice, and are endowed with wisdom and energy, / even Meru mountains are swallowed—what need be said of past human effort?

2.4.19

Whatever manliness of a man is dedicated to human effort governed by scripture, / that alone brings about the accomplishment of the full measure of desired fruits; otherwise, it leads to disaster.

2.4.19_1

In a certain state, through the fault of a man's own misfortune, / an abundance of drops slowly trickles from a single handful squeezed by fingertips; / in another state, the earth, though filled with oceans, mountains, cities, and continents, / does not suffice to provide the proper share due to be maintained. / Thus, in the sacred Mahārāmāyaṇa of Vasiṣṭha, composed by Vālmīki, in the section on the Conduct of the Seeker of Liberation, the fourth chapter, named 'The Section on Human Effort.'

2.5.1

The venerable Vasiṣṭha said: / Active engagement is the first necessity for those who conduct themselves according to scripture; / like light revealing distinctions of color, it accomplishes all actions.

2.5.2

Whatever one desires with the mind but does not accomplish with action according to scripture— / that is the play of a drunkard, deluding and yielding no goal.

2.5.3

Just as one exerts oneself, so one experiences [the result];
it is only one's own action, and there is no other, distinct perspective of fate.

2.5.4

Human effort is said to be of two kinds: contrary to the scriptures and according to the scriptures.
Among these, that contrary to the scriptures leads to disaster, while that according to the scriptures leads to the supreme goal.

2.5.55

Like two rams fighting, two human efforts, equal or unequal,
[clash—]past and present; and here, the one of lesser vigor is overcome.

2.5.55_1

Therefore, by human effort, one must strive by any means,
properly through sound practice, so that the present effort may swiftly conquer.

2.5.55_2

Like two rams fighting, two human efforts, equal or unequal,
[clash—]one's own and that of another; and between the two, the stronger conquers.

2.5.55_3

Where misfortune is encountered even from human effort in accordance with the scriptures,
one must understand that there, one's own human effort causing misfortune was stronger.

2.5.55_4

Relying on supreme human effort, grinding teeth against teeth,
one must conquer the unfavorable past human effort through the favorable.

2.5.55_5

The thought that 'past human effort impels me'
must be crushed underfoot by force; it is not superior to direct perception.

2.5.55_6

So long and with such effort must one strive with noble human effort,
until the past, unfavorable human effort subsides of itself.

2.5.55_7

Without doubt, a past fault is neutralized by present virtues;
the illustration here is the destruction of yesterday's fault by today's virtues.

2.5.55_8

Trampling down unreal fate with a mind ever heightened,
one should strive to establish in oneself the crossing of transmigratory existence for ultimate flourishing.

2.5.55_9

One must not become equal to human donkeys lacking exertion;
exertion must be according to the scriptures for the attainment of both worlds.

2.5.55_10

From this cave of transmigratory existence one must emerge oneself by force,
relying on human effort, like a lion from a cage of enemies.

2.5.55_11

Day by day one should inspect one's perishable body;
one should abandon what is common to beasts and embrace what is worthy of noble people.

2.5.55_12

Experiencing in one's house the delicate pleasure mingled with food, drink, and woman,
one must not reduce one's life to ashes like a worm in an ulcer.

2.5.55_13

By favorable human effort, a favorable result is swiftly attained;
by unfavorable, always unfavorable. There is no such thing called fate.

2.5.55_14

He who, abandoning direct perception, resorts to inference,
runs away seeing his own two arms, thinking: 'These two are snakes!'

2.5.55_15

Seeing the face of those ruined minds who think, 'Fate impels me,'
and who regard the unseen [fate] as superior, Fortune turns away.

2.5.55_16

Therefore, through human effort, one should first resort to discernment;
one should thoroughly examine the scriptures whose great purpose is knowledge of the Self.

2.5.55_17

Fie on the wicked wishes of the fools who, though contemplating the goal in their minds
according to the scriptures, do not accomplish it by their own endeavors!

2.5.55_18

Nor is human effort boundless, nor is effort wished for [without measure];
even with great effort, a jewel cannot be obtained from a stone.

2.5.55_19

Just as a pot is delimited, and just as a cloth is delimited,
so too is human effort defined and restricted in its measure.

2.5.55_20

And it bestows its fruit through good scriptures, the company of the noble, and virtuous conduct—
such is its nature; otherwise, it is not for the attainment of the goal.

2.5.55_21

A person acting in this way, which is the true nature of human effort,
never at any time meets with fruitless effort.

2.5.55_22

Even other best of men, afflicted with misery, poverty, and sorrow,
have attained equality with Indra, the lord of gods, solely through human effort.

2.5.55_23

Since, through virtues practiced thoroughly from childhood—such as scriptures and the company of the noble—
one's goal is attained by human effort,

2.5.55_24

this is directly seen, experienced, heard, and performed.
Those who believe it comes from fate are ruined and of wicked intellect.

2.5.55_25

If indolence were not a disaster in the world,
who would not possess great wealth or great learning?
Because of indolence, this earth up to the ocean shores
is filled with human beasts and the destitute.

2.5.55_26

When childhood, fickle and restless with endless imagined games, has passed,
beginning with the age adorned by strong arms, a person should diligently,
with intellect purified in words and their meanings through company of the noble, / engage in inquiry into his own virtues and faults.

Translations (1)

The Yoga-Vásishtha-Mahárámáyana of Válmiki — Vihari-Lala Mitra 1891, English

Commentaries (1)

Vāsiṣṭharāmāyaṇatātparyaprakāśa — Ānandabodhendra Sarasvatī 1600, Sanskrit

Linked texts (1)

Yogavāsiṣṭha — Vālmīki, Sanskrit

Vasiṣṭha's teaching (Mahārāmāyaṇa) 2

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