Devibhagavatapurana 7.34.1

7.34.1

śrī devyuvāca |
kva yūyaṃ mandabhāgyā vai kvedaṃ rūpaṃ mahādbhutam |
tathāpi bhaktavātsalyādīdṛśaṃ darśitaṃ mayā ||

The Devî said:-- "O Devas! You are not at all worthy to see this My Wonderful Cosmic Form. Where are Ye! and where is this My Form! But it is my affection towards the Bhaktas that I have shewn to you all this great form of mine. Nobody can see this form without My Grace; the study of the Vedas, the Yoga, the gift, the Sacrifice, the austerities or any other Sâdhanas are quite incompetent to make this form visible to anybody. O King of mountains! Now hear the real instructions. The Great Self is the only Supreme Thing in this world of Mâyâ (Illusions). He it is that under the various Upâdhis of an actor and enjoyer performs various functions leading to the Dharma (righteousness) and the Adharma (unrighteouss). Then he goes into various wombs and enjoys pleasure or pain according to his Karma. Then again owing to the tendencies pertaining to these births he becomes engaged in various functions and gets again various bodies and enjoys varieties of pleasures and pains. O Best of Mountains! There is no cessation of these births and deaths; it is like a regular clockwork machine; it has no beginning and it goes on working to an endless period. Ignorance or Avidyâ is the Cause of this Samsâra. Desire comes out of this and action flows thence. So men ought to try their best to get rid of this Ignorance. O King of Mountains! What more to say than this that the Goal of life is attained when this Ignorance is destroyed.

The highest goal is attained by a Jîva, when he becomes liberated, while living. And Vidyâ is the only thing that is able and skilful in destroying this Ignorance. (As darkness cannot dispel darkness, so) the Karma done out of Ignorance is Ignorance itself; and such a work cannot destroy Ignorance. So it is not proper to expect that this Avidyâ can be destroyed by doing works. The works are entirely futile. The Jîvas want again and again the sensual enjoyments out of this Karma. Attachment arises out of this desire; discrepancies creep in and out of this ignorant attachment great calamities befall when such faults or discrepancies are committed. So every sane man ought to make his best effort to get this Jñânam (knowledge). And as it is also enjoined in the S'rutis that one ought to do actions (and try to live one hundred years) so it is advisable to do works also. Again the S'rutis declate that the "final liberation comes from Knowledge" so one ought to acquire Jñânam. If both these be collectively followed, then works become beneficial and helping to Jñânam. (Therefore the Jîvas should take up both of these.) Others say that this is impossible owing to their contradictory natures. The knots of heart are let loose by Jñânam and the knots are knit more by Karma. So how can they be reconciled? They are so very diametrically opposite. Darkness and light cannot be brought together, so Jñânam and Karma cannot be brought together.

Therefore one ought to do all the Karmas as best as one can, as enjoined in the Vedas, until one gets Chittas'uddhi (the purification of one's heart and mind). Karmas are to be done until S'ama (the control of the inner organs of senses), Dama (the control of the outer organs of senses), Titiksâ (the power to endure heat and cold and other dualities), Vairâgyam (Dispassion), Sattva Sambhava (the birth of pure Sattva Guna in one's own heart) take place. After these, the Karmas cease for that man. Then one ought to take Sannyâsa from a Guru (Spiritual Teacher) who has got his senses under control, who is versed in the S'rutis, attached to Brahma (practising the Yogic union with Brahma). He should approach to him with an unfeigned Bhakti. He should day and night, without any laziness, do S'ravanam, Mananam, and Nididhyâsanam (hearing, thinking and deeply realising) the Vedânta sayings. He should constantly ponder over the meanings of the Mahâvâkyam "Tat Tyam Asi." "Tat Tyam Asi" means Thou art That; it asserts the identity of the Supreme Self (Brahma) and Embodied Self (Jîvâtmâ). When this identity is realised, fearlessness comes and he then gets My nature. First of all, he should try to realise (by reasoning) the idea conveyed by that sentence. By the word "Tat" is meant Myself, of the nature of Brahman; and by the word "Tvam" is meant "Jîva" embodied self and the word "Asi" indicates, no doubt, the identity of these two.

The two words "Tat" and "Tvam" cannot be apparently identified, as they seem to convey contradictory meanings ("Tat" implying omniscience, omnipresence, and other universal qualities and "Tvam" implying non-omniscience and other qualities of a limited nature). So to establish the identity between the two, one ought to adopt Bhâgalaksmanâ and Tyâgalaksmanâ. [N. B.—Bhâgalaksmanâ -- kind of Laksmanâ or secondary use of a word by which it partly loses and partly retains its primary meaning also called Jahadajahallaksanâ. Tyâga Laksmanâ -- a secondary use of a word by which it loses partly its primary meaning.