Vasiṣṭha's teaching (Mahārāmāyaṇa) 4

English (machine translation) 4

Language: English

4.1 — 38 parts
4.2 — 26 parts
4.3 — 27 parts
4.4 — 18 parts
4.5 — 21 parts
4.6 — 27 parts
4.7 — 32 parts
4.8 — 31 parts
4.9 — 19 parts
4.10 — 67 parts
4.11 — 68 parts
4.12 — 17 parts
4.13 — 22 parts
4.14 — 49 parts
4.15 — 51 parts
4.16 — 28 parts
4.17 — 33 parts
4.18 — 72 parts
4.19 — 36 parts
4.20 — 11 parts
4.21 — 60 parts
4.22 — 45 parts
4.23 — 63 parts
4.24 — 23 parts
4.25 — 46 parts
4.26 — 60 parts
4.27 — 43 parts
4.28 — 32 parts
4.29 — 36 parts
4.30 — 20 parts
4.31 — 50 parts
4.32 — 62 parts
4.33 — 73 parts
4.34 — 40 parts
4.35 — 71 parts
4.36 — 35 parts
4.37 — 16 parts
4.38 — 25 parts
4.39 — 52 parts
4.40 — 42 parts
4.41 — 41 parts
4.42 — 54 parts
4.43 — 47 parts
4.44 — 52 parts
4.45 — 52 parts
4.46 — 35 parts
4.47 — 91 parts
4.48 — 44 parts
4.49 — 35 parts
4.50 — 13 parts
4.51 — 35 parts
4.52 — 29 parts
4.53 — 51 parts
4.54 — 42 parts
4.55 — 42 parts
4.56 — 50 parts
4.57 — 60 parts
4.58 — 14 parts
4.59 — 57 parts
4.60 — 27 parts
4.61 — 24 parts
4.62 — 21 parts

4.1.2

Now, immediately following the section on origination, listen to this: / the section on subsistence, O Rāma, which, when understood, produces extinction. // 1

4.1.3

First, know that this visible world established thus, / and [conceptions] such as 'I', are formless, mere delusion, made of unreality. // 2

4.1.4

It is a painting arisen in the sky, without a painter and without colours; / it is an experience without a seer, the seeing of a dream without sleep. // 3

4.1.5

It is like the building of a future city arisen solely within the mind; / like the cooling of heat by the fire of a monkey—unreal, yet accomplishing an end. // 4

4.1.6

Non-different from Brahman, it appears as different, established like a whirlpool in water; / though possessing the form of being, it is utterly empty, like solar light in the sky. // 5

4.1.7

Like a mass of radiance of jewels in the sky, appearing without a background; / like a city of the gandharvas, a visible appearance forever without a wall. // 6

4.1.8

Like mirage water, unreal, yet producing conviction as if real; / like a city of volition, fully developed, experienced, yet made of unreality. // 7

4.1.9

Having the nature of a mere appearance of the sense of a tale, staying nowhere, unstabilized; / although void of essence, seemingly having deep substance within, like a mountain in a dream. // 8

4.1.10

Shining with forms like the elemental space, yet sheer void; / like an autumn cloud standing before one, an illusion, imperishable, intact. // 9

4.1.11

Like the color of a flaw in the sky, seen without any real object; / having the form of intercourse with a woman in a dream, fixed upon an aim, yet aimless. // 10

4.1.12

Like a painted garden in full bloom, sapless, though having a juicy appearance; / though illuminating, devoid of heat, remaining like a painted sun or fire. // 11

4.1.13

Experienced like a day-dream, unreal and baseless; / like a painted lotus pool, devoid of real essence and fragrance. // 12

4.1.14

Flashing forth in the void, multicolored, assuming forms, / devoid of any graspable mass, utterly empty, like a risen rainbow. // 13

4.1.15

Made of delicate sprouts of elements that wither upon scrutiny; / inert, devoid of essence in nature, shining like a banana-tree trunk. // 14

4.1.16

The whirling of a circle of darkness seen when the eyes flutter; / having utterly no real form, yet standing as if directly perceptible. // 15

4.1.17

Without substantial body like a water bubble, empty, with a body sparkling within; / having the nature of flavor, yet flavorless, with an uninterrupted rise and fall. // 16

4.1.18

Spreading out like mist, which, when grasped, is nothing at all; / the abode of inert void, void, like an atom to some. // 17

4.1.19

Remaining as 'I am made of some being', yet empty, without being; / appearing, yet unreal in form, standing like an apparition of the night. // 18

Śrī Rāma said: / At the end of a great cosmic cycle, the visible [world] abides like a sprout in a seed; / in the Supreme it rises again from that very [seed]—speak to this: what [is the truth]? // 19

4.1.21

Are those who have such an understanding ignorant, or are they wise? / Tell me this clearly and accurately, O Lord, for the settling of all doubt. // 20

4.1.22

Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: / 'This visible world abides in the Great Abode like a sprout in a seed'— / whoever speaks thus possesses ignorance; this is his childishness. // 21

4.1.23

Listen to how this is incoherent, how this is untrue; / this is a distorted understanding that causes delusion to the speaker and the listener. // 22

4.1.24

The notion here that 'the world indeed abides in a seed like a sprout' / is a foolish chatter of fools; listen to how it is so. // 23

4.1.25

A seed must itself be visible, within the range of the senses like the mind and others, / such as barley and corn; [in such cases] the emergence of leaves and sprouts is logical. // 24

4.1.26

How could that which is beyond the senses with the mind as sixth, / and which is exceedingly subtle, be able to be a seed, the self-born source of worlds? // 25

4.1.27

For the Supreme, the Supreme Self, subtler even than space, / beyond the reach of all designations, how can there be the nature of a seed, and in what way? // 26

4.1.28

That [cause] is subtle, appearing as unreal, indeed unreal and not like that. / What kind of seed-nature can be there? And in the absence of a seed, whence the sprout? // 27

4.1.29

In that Supreme State, purer even than the expanse of space, empty, / how can the world, Mount Meru, the oceans, the sky, and so forth exist? // 28

4.1.30

How can anything exist in that which is not anything, an object in an [insubstantial] object? / And if it exists, how is that existing thing not seen there? // 29

4.1.31

How does anything come from that which has no thing as its nature, or from where? / From the empty pot-space, where, from what, and when was a mountain ever born? // 30

4.1.32

How can something abide in its opposite, like shade in sunlight? / How can darkness abide in the sun? How can frost abide in fire? // 31

4.1.33

How can Mount Meru abide in an atom? Whence can something abide in the formless? / Where is the unity of two things of opposite nature, like shade and sunlight? // 32

4.1.34

It is reasonable that sprouts exist in a seed of a banyan tree with form, and the like; / but it is unreasonable that that colossal-formed world exists in the formless. // 33

4.1.35

And that which in another place or in another person / is visible through the power of all senses, beginning with the intellect, / does not exist at all in the awareness of such an intellect; / and that is spoken of as simply 'nothing'. // 34

4.1.36

He who says that the effect has gone into the state of that cause— / his understanding is utterly confused. / By what indeed does that effect arise from it / together with its own auxiliary causes and the like? // 35

4.1.37

Casting far away the relation of cause and effect / imagined by the foolish-minded, / know that that very reality, without beginning or middle, / remains established as this world. // 36

4.1.38

Thus ends the first chapter, named 'Refutation of the Produced and the Producer', in the section on subsistence, in the Means of Liberation, spoken by the divine messenger, in the venerable and ancient Vāsiṣṭha-Mahārāmāyaṇa composed by Vālmīki. // 1

4.2.1

Second Chapter: 2.

4.2.2

Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: / Now, even granting this [view], I shall speak, O best of knowers of the knowable: / in the immaculate, great sky of Consciousness, beyond all conceptualization, // 1

4.2.3

if the initial sprout of the world exists there, then tell [me]: / by what auxiliary causes does it arise? // 2

4.2.4

In the absence of auxiliary causes, however, the rising of a sprout / is like the daughter of a barren woman—never seen here by anyone. // 3

4.2.5

If it is said to arise in the absence of auxiliary causes, / then, my dear, the root cause itself must have passed into the state of its own nature. // 4

4.2.6

At the beginning of creation, Brahman alone remains in Itself in the form of creation; / as it is, formless—where is the sequence of what is produced and what produces? // 5

4.2.7

Or if earth and others, or any others, assist here / in the role of auxiliary causes, the previous flaw applies here as well. // 6

4.2.8

Therefore, the world abides tranquil in that state; that it spreads forth / from the mind through auxiliary causes is the statement of a child, not of a wise man. // 7

4.2.9

Therefore, Rāma, the world never was, nor is, nor will be; / the sky of Consciousness alone instantly shines forth thus in Itself. // 8

4.2.10

When absolute non-existence of this world is present, / then this all is Brahman; it is so, O Rāma, and not otherwise.

4.2.11

That which is brought to quiet by prior non-existence, destructive non-existence, or mutual non-existence, / does not truly quiet in the mind; it only seems to be quieted, yet is still seen.

4.2.12

When it is quieted through the absolute non-existence of its entities, / the true does not truly quiet in the mind; where could visibility quiet at all?

4.2.13

Therefore, setting aside the absolute non-existence of the visible world in every way, / there is indeed no other means for the complete destruction of misfortune.

4.2.14

This consciousness of the space of consciousness—that which stands as 'the world shines'— / is like a varied tale in the world: 'This is he, I am this, I am not that.'

4.2.15

'This is today and so forth, earth and so forth; likewise this is a year and so forth; / this is an eon, and this is an instant; these are death and birth;

4.2.16

this is the onset of an eon's end; that is the great eon's dissolution; / this is the commencement of creation, but that is the sequence of what is to be and its cause;

4.2.17

these are the marks of eons; these are crores of cosmic eggs; / these have passed away, and these have come back again;

4.2.18

these are constellations of spheres; these are the divisions of space and time.' / The supreme space of great consciousness, uncovered and endless,

4.2.19

abides as before, tranquil; thus it shines forth by itself. / These are the rays of a thousand subtle atoms of the great consciousness.

4.2.20

The wonder within that is poured forth by consciousness itself, / appears as the manifestation of creation; this is formless, without any canvas.

4.2.21

They do not arise and do not perish; they do not come and do not go; / they are motionless, like the patterns of lines on great boulders.

4.2.22

These creations gleam in the pure Self by the Self, / as portions of space [gleam] in space, formless in that which is formless,

4.2.23

as fluidity in water, as motion in the perpetual wind, / as whirlpools in the ocean, or as qualities in a possessor of qualities.

4.2.24

This stands thus as a single mass of consciousness alone, / having the rising, setting, and commencement, endless, tranquil, and pervasive.

4.2.25

In the absence of causes such as auxiliary conditions, that the world arises from a void / or that the Self-born arises—this is indeed the ranting of a madman.

4.2.26

With the stain of the artifice of all objects calmed, / with the couch of every single conceptualization cast aside, / having dispelled the long sleep forever, / become fearless, an ornament to the earth, awake! // Thus ends the second chapter, named 'The Presentation of the Seed of Continuance', in the Section on Continuance, in the Means to Liberation of the venerable Mahārāmāyaṇa of Vasiṣṭha composed by Vālmīki. 2

4.3.1

Chapter 3

4.3.2

Śrī Rāma said: / At the beginning of creation after the great dissolution, that first Prajāpati / is born consisting of memory, I think; and from him the world consists of memory alone.

4.3.3

Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: / At the beginning of creation after the great dissolution, it is indeed so, O best of the Raghu lineage: / that first Prajāpati in the beginning consists of memory alone.

4.3.4

Then this world, consisting of his volition, exists as memory; / the city of volition that previously existed appears to Prajāpati.

4.3.5

Yet memory cannot possibly exist for the Supreme Self at the beginning of creation, / for how and where could there be birth, like a great tree in the sky?

4.3.6

Śrī Rāma said: / Why, O Brahman, is past memory not possible at the beginning of creation? / How could past memory be destroyed by the confusions of the great dissolution?

4.3.7

Śrī Vasiṣṭha said: / Those wise beings of old at the great dissolution, Brahmā and the rest, / indeed attained extinction and surely merged into Brahman.

4.3.8

Who then could be the past agent of memory? Tell me, O one of noble vows! / For memory has become rootless because the rememberer has been liberated.

4.3.9

Therefore, in the absence of a rememberer, how or whence could memory arise? / For at the great dissolution, all surely partake in liberation alone.

4.3.10

The memory that spontaneously exists in the space of consciousness regarding what has or has not been experienced— / that is mature as the earthly world; that visible [world] is indeed the radiance of consciousness.

4.3.11

It is just this radiance of consciousness shining forth, having no beginning or end, / which stands as that which is this world and as the Self-born.

4.3.12

The innate manifestation of Brahman, accomplished from beginningless time—

4.3.13

that is the subtle body of the cosmic sovereign, possessing the form of the world.

4.3.14

In a subtle atom shines this triple world with forests, clouds, and sky, / endowed with the sequence of space, time, action, substance, day, and night.

4.3.15

An atom is vast, and of that it is just like that; / again a collection of mountains shines forth, forming bright brilliance.

4.3.16

There too, of just such form, continuous in every atom, / the visible shines, having the nature of light; this, my dear, is not real.

4.3.17

Thus there is never an end to the view of the real, nor to the view of the unreal; / this, O sinless one, has arisen for the awakened, but not for the unawakened.

4.3.18

To the awakened, this is Brahman alone, solitary, tranquil, imperishable; / to the unawakened, by consciousness this shines, full of worlds.

4.3.19

Just as this shines bright, blossoming as the cosmic egg of the world, / so thousands of crores of other [worlds] shine in atom after atom.

4.3.20

Just as inside a carved puppet in a pillar there is another puppet, and puppets in her own limbs, / and in her limb there is yet another puppet, so is the puppet of the three worlds.

4.3.21

Neither separate nor countable, just as the atoms on a mountain, / so are the atoms of the three worlds in the great Mount Meru that is Brahman.

4.3.22

Tiny specks of dust in the rays of the sun and the like can be counted, / [but not] the atoms of the three worlds that arise in the sun of consciousness.

4.3.23

Just as atoms drift in the rays of the sun, in waters, and in dust, / so do the atoms of the three worlds drift in the sky of consciousness.

4.3.24

Just as this physical sky consists solely of the experience of voidness, / so this sky of consciousness consists solely of the experience of creation.

4.3.25

Understood according to the meaning of the word 'creation', creation leads downward; / understood according to the meaning of the word 'Brahman', it becomes supreme good.

4.3.26

The Self of consciousness, the ruler, the seed of the universe, / is simply Brahman, its own space of consciousness alone; / knowing that whatever is born from something is that very thing, / what is to be known is solely the self-awakening of knowledge within oneself.

Translations (1)

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

Commentaries (1)

Yogavāsiṣṭhatātparyaprakāśa — Gaṅgādharendra Sarasvatī, Sanskrit

Linked texts (1)

Yogavāsiṣṭha — Vālmīki, Sanskrit

Vasiṣṭha's teaching (Mahārāmāyaṇa) 4

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