|
PAGE 273
1. Knowledge (Vidya) and Ignorance (Avidya)
"He
who realizes the nature of Vidyaa -true knowledge - and
of Avidyaa - good moral life and Divine contemplation -
simultaneously conquers death by virtue of Avidyaa and
obtains Immortality by virtue of Vidyaa." YAJUR VEDA.
40: 40.
Characteristics of Avidyaa:-
1. "The false
notion that the transient world and worldly things (such as
bodies) are eternal or in other words that the world of
effects, that we see and feel, has always been existing and
will continue to exist for ever, and that by virtue of the
power of yoga, the physical bodies of godly men become
imperishable, is the first kind of ignorance (Avidyaa).
2. To regard impure things, such as lustfulness and
untruthfulness, as pure is the second kind of Ignorance
(Avidyaa).
3. To believe that excessive sexual indulgence is a
source of happiness, whilst it really causes pain and
suffering, constitutes the third variety of ignorance
(Avidyaa).
4. To consider dead material things as possessed of
soul is the fourth kind of ignorance (Avidyaa)." YOGA SHAASTRA
, Saadhanpada.
This fourfold incorrect knowledge is called
Avidya or ignorance. The reverse of it , viz., to look
upon what is temporal as temporal; what is eternal as eternal;
what is pure as pure; what is impure as
PAGE 274
Impure, pain as pain, pleasure as pleasure, what is
soul-less as soul-less, what is soul-possessing as
soul-possessing, is called Vidyaa or knowledge.
That by which the true nature of things is known is not
revealed and, instead, a false conception of things is formed,
is called ignorance.
Virtuous life and contemplation of God are called
Avidyaa (or not knowledge), because they are only
bodily acts and mental processes. They are not knowledge.
Therefore, it is said in the above mantra that without pure
life and contemplation of God no one can ever conquer death.
Virtuous acts, the worship of one true God and correct
knowledge lead to Emancipation, whilst an immoral life,
the worship of idols (or other things or persons in place of
God), and false knowledge are the cause of the Bondage
of the soul. No man can ever, for a single moment be, free
from actions, thoughts and knowledge. Performance or righteous
acts, as truthfulness in speech, and the renunciation of
sinful acts, as untruthfulness, alone are the means of
Salvation.
2. Who cannot obtain Emancipation?
A.~
One who is in Bondage.
Q. Who is in bondage?
A.~ One who is sunk in sin and ignorance.
3. Are Bondage and Emancipation natural to
souls or acquired?
A.~
Acquired, because if they be natural they would be permanent.
Q. "The soul being Brahma (God) is really neither
ever veiled by ignorance, nor born. It is neither in bondage
nor need it devise any means for its emancipation, neither it
desires to be emancipated nor is it ever emancipated. How can
it be emancipated when it was never in bondage?" GAURPADIYA
KARIKA, 2: 32. What is your answer to this?
PAGE 275
A.~ This statement of the Neo-Vedaantists is not true,
because the soul being finite by nature is veiled and takes on
a body which is popularly called its birth. It is also in
bondage, because it suffers from the consequences of its sins
and thinks out means to escape from sin and suffering and
consequent bondage, and desires to free itself from pain.
Being emancipated it "sees" the All-blissful God and thereby
attains final beatitude (i.e., obtains salvation).
4. The soul is pure and untainted.
These are all the properties of the body and
mind - the internal organ of thought - not of the soul. The
soul is free from sin and virtue. It is merely a witness of
what the body and the mind do. Heat and cold are felt by the
body.
A.~ The body and mind - the internal organ of thought -
are material, hence dead and inert. They can never fell heat
or cold, nor therefore the consequent pain or pleasure. It is
conscious beings (who possess souls) such as men, who feel
heat and cold when a hot or a cold substance comes in contact
with their bodies. Even the praanas - the nervauric forces -
are devoid of consciousness.
They can feel neither hunger nor thirst. It is the soul
possess of nervauric forces that feels the sensations of
hunger or thirst. Similarly, the manas - internal organ of
thought - is also devoid of consciousness. It can feel neither
sorrow nor joy, but it is through the manas that the soul
feels pleasure or pain, and joy or sorrow.
Similarly, through the organs of sensations, such as
the ears, the soul receives different sensations, such as of
hearing, and consequently feels pleasure or pain, just
according to the nature of those sensations. It is the soul
that thinks, knows, remembers and feels its individuality
through the organs of thought, discernment, memory and
individuality. It is, therefore, the soul that enjoys or
suffers. Just as it is the man that uses his sword to kill
another who is punished and not the sword, similarly, it is
the soul that, by the use of such instruments as the body, the
bodily senses, the organs of thought, the nervauric forces,
does acts - good or evil - and consequently it is the soul
alone that reaps the fruits thereof - joy or sorrow.
The soul is not a witness of acts. It is the actual
doer that reaps the fruits of deeds done. The One Incomparable
Supreme Spirit alone is the Witness. It is the soul that does
acts and is, therefore, naturally engrossed by them. The soul
is not God and, consequently, it is not the witness of acts
(but the actual doer).
PAGE 276
5. The soul is the image of
God..
..and just as when a mirror gets broken, the
image (in it) ceases to exist but it does in no way affect the
object (whose image it was), similarly, the soul as the image
of God lasts only so long as the antahkaran (internal organ of
thought - mind) - the reflecting medium - endures, once that
disappears, the soul no longer in bondage is emancipated - Is
it not so?
A.~ It is a childish idea, because before you can have
an image, you must have two things that possess form and
object and a reflecting medium - distinct from each other.
Take an example. The face and mirror are both essential to the
formation of the image of the face. Both have form and are
visible. They are also separate form each other. Had they not
been so, there would have been no image. God being
All-pervading and Formless it is impossible for Him to have an
image.
Q.But do you not see the all-pervading, formless
ether reflected in clear deep water. Similarly, God can be
reflected in a pure mind. Therefore, it is that the soul is
called chidaabhaas - the image of God.
A.~ This is again childish babble; ether being
invisible no one can ever see it. How can anyone see ether
with his eyes when he cannot even see air which grosser than
ether?
6. Is it not ether, then, that you see in
the sky above, blue and dusty?
A.~
No.
Q. What is it then?
A.~ It is the fine particles of earth, water and Agni
(in the atmosphere). The blue colour is mainly due to the
particles of water in the atmosphere that come down as rain,
while the dusty appearance is due to the particles of dust
which is carried up from the earth and floats about the air.
It is these things that are seen and reflected in water or in
a mirror, and not ether.
Q. Just as we find such terms as Ghataakaasha - the
ether enclosed by a pot - Mataakaaha - the ether enclosed by a
house - Meghaakaasha - the ether enclosed by a cloud -, used
to denote various parts of ether; and after the pot, etc., are
broken, the particular parts of ether cease to exist, only the
universal ether is
PAGE 277
left; in the same way Brahma (God in Passive state)
is I'shwara (God in active state) or the soul according as He
is spoken of in relation to universe or to the antahkaran -
internal organ of thought.
A.~ This is also a foolish argument. The ether (of the
pot or the house, etc.) never perishes, nor is it ever
shatttered into pieces. It is the pot or the house that is
broken or pulled down and comes into pieces. You never hear of
a person saying to another "Bring me the ether of a pot." He
always says, "Bring me a pot." Your argument, therefore, is
not valid.
Q. As the fish and other marine creatures swim about
in the sea or as the birds fly about in air, so do all
antahkarnas move about in Brahma - truly conscious Being Who
is All-pervading like ether. They are by themselves devoid of
consciousness, but by virtue of Divine presence in them they
become conscious, just as a piece of iron becomes hot by
coming in contact with fire. The antahkarnas like the fish and
birds move about, whilst Brahma is stationary like space.
There can, therefore, be no harm in believing that the soul in
fact is Brahma (God).
A.~ Even this illustration of yours is not right,
because of the soul be the image or reflection of the
All-pervading Brahma in the antahkaran, why does it not
possess such attributes as omniscience? If you say that it is
not omniscient because of he limitations imposed upon the soul
by the limiting medium, is Brahma then subject to obstruction,
limitation and division or is He Indivisible? If you say that
He is Indivisible, no limiting medium or veil can stand in His
way. Why should not the soul then be omniscient?
On the other hand, if you say that the soul - which is
really no other than Brahma, - forgets its divine nature and
seemingly but not really moves about with antahkaran, then
part of Brahma which the antahkaran (organ of thought) -
veiling medium - gets to, will become subject to doubt, and
distrust, and destitute of true knowledge, whilst that part,
which it leaves behind, will become omniscient, pure and
blissfull. Thus this antahkaran will disturb the whole
universal Brahma, and consequently bondage (ignorance) and
emancipation (knowledge) would become of momentary duration.
Besides, if your assertion be true, no one should be able to
remember whatever one had seen or heard in the past, because
that Brahma who had seen or heard it had
PAGE 278
ceased to exist (on account of the antahkaran being in
a state of constant motion and thus shifting form place to
place. It follows, therefore, that God (Brahma) can never
become the soul, nor can the soul become God. They can never
be one. They are always distinct from each other.
7. This is all adhayaropa..
..(attributing the properties of one thing to
another), in other words, the substitution of on thing for
another. The substitution of the world and worldly objects for
Brahma, that is, to speak of them as if they were different
from Brahma, is simply meant to help a seeker after truth to
understand the subject with ease. In reality everything is
Brahma.
A.~ Who is it that makes this substitution?
Q.The soul
A.~ What is the soul?
Q.The conscious entity limited by antahkaran.
A.~ Is it the same Brahma or something different?
Q. The same Brahma.
A.~ Was it Brahma Himself then Who formed an erroneous
conception of the world (according to the Vedantis, there is
really no world, it is only delusion)?
Q. Even if it be Brahma who did it, it can do Him no
harm.
A.~ Why is not he who forms an erroneous conception of
things wrong then?
Q. No, because whatsoever is conceived in mind or
spoken with the tongue is all false.
A.~ Is not Brahma, then - author of false ideas and
false speech - false and fallible?
Q. Never mind that, let him be so, Our object is
simply to prove our position.
A.~ Oh, ye false Vedaantis ! You have made Brahma
(God), whose all desires and conceptions are truth, the author
of falsehood. Is it not the cause of your degradation? In
which Upanishad, aphorism or Veda is it written that Brahma is
untruthful in thought or speech? Your conduct is like that of
a burglar in the proverb
PAGE 279
which says, "A thief sitting in judgement on the
magistrate." It is right for the magistrate to punish a
burglar but it is unnatural and wrong if a burglar tries to
punish the magistrate. Similarly, you, who are untruthful both
in mind and speech, try in vain to lay your faults on God. If
a part of Brahma be untruthful in word, deed or thought, the
whole Brahma would be the same, because He is uniform. His
nature, knowledge and action are all true.
Untruthfulness in word, deed or thought is your failing
but not of Brahma. What you call knowledge is really
ignorance, and what you call your adhyaropa is also false,
because you call yourselves Brahma, when you are not Brahma,
and regard the soul as Brahma what is not Brahma. Now what are
these if not false ideas? He who is Omnipresent, can never
become subject to limitations, ignorance and bondage. It is
the soul that is limited by time and space, finite in nature,
knowledge and power, but not the Omniscient, Omnipresent
Brahma.
BONDAGE AND EMANCIPATON
8. What is emancipation?
A.~
That condition in which the souls are freed.
Q. Freed from what?
A.~ What they desire to be freed from.
Q. What do they desire to be freed from?
A.~ From pain ( or misery)
Q. Being freed from pain what do they attain and
where do they live?
A.~ They attain happiness and live in God.
Q. What re the causes of Bondage and
Emancipation?
A.~ Obedience to the Will of God, dissociation from
sin, ignorance, bad company, evil influences and bad habits,
the practice of truthfulness in speech, the promotion of
public good, even-handed justice, righteousness and the
advancement of knowledge, worship of God - Glorification,
Prayer and Communion -in other words,
PAGE 280
the practice of yoga, study and tuition or instruction
of others, and advancement of knowledge by righteous efforts,
the employment of best means towards the accomplishment of
one's object, the regulation of one's conduct in strict
accordance with the dictates of even-handed justice which is
righteousness, and so on are the means of obtaining
Emancipation, whilst the reverse of these, disobedience to the
Divine Will and the like lead to Bondage.
9. Does the soul in the state of
Emancipation keep its individuality or is it absorbed (into
God)?
A.~ It
lives and keeps its individuality.
Q.Where does it live?
A.~ In God.
Q. Where is God? And does an emancipated soul remain
in some definite place or go about just as it desires?
A.~ It remains its innate power, activity and
attributes but no physical body. It is said in the Shatapatha
Braahmana:-
"An emancipate soul has no physical body or
bodily organs but it retains its pure natural attributes and
powers. By virtue of its innate powers, an emancipate soul has
the principle of hearing when it wants to hear, the principle
of touch when it wants to feel, the principle of sight when it
wishes to see, the principle of taste when it desires to
taste, the principle of smell when it wants to smell, the
principle of thought for thinking, the principle of
PAGE 281
judgement for ascertaining truth, the principle of
memory for remembering, the principle of individuality for
feeling its individuality. It can possess this so-called -
composed of the principles of sensation and thought, etc., at
its will. Just as when the soul is embodied, it depends upon
its physical body and bodily organs to carry out its will, so
does it enjoy the bliss of Emancipation through the use of its
innate power.
10. What is the nature of this power, and
of how many kinds is it?
A.~
Really it is of one kind, but it may be said to consist of the
following 24 varieties:-
1. Strength; 2. Energy; 3.
Attraction; 4. Suggestion; 5. Motion; 6. Intimidation; 7.
Analytic power; 8. Skill; 9. Courage; 10. Memory; 11.
Discernment; 12. Desire; 13. Love; 14. Hatred; 15.
Association; 16. Dissociation; 17. Dividing power; 18.
Combining power; 19. Power of sight; 20. Hearing; 21. Touch;
22. Taste; 23. Smell; 24. Knowledge.
By the help of these very powers the soul attains and
enjoys happiness even in Emancipation. If the soul, when
emancipated, were to be absorbed into Brahma, who would then
enjoy the bliss of emancipation. Those who regard the
dissolution of soul as emancipation are no doubt immersed in
ignorance, because the Emancipation of the soul consists in
its exemption from all sin and suffering and in the enjoyment
of perfect bliss in the All-pervading, All-blissful, Infinite,
Omnipotent God. Mark! What the Vedaant Shaastra says on the
subject:-
"According to Baadri the soul as well as the mind - the
principle of thought - is present in Emancipation." VEDAANT
SHAATRA 4: 4, 10. In other words, Baadri, otherwise known as
Paraashar, the father of Vyaasa, does not believe in the
absorption of the soul ( into God) nor in its dissolution, nor
in that to the principle of thought in the state of
Emancipation. Similarly, the great teacher Jaimini holds that
"an emancipated soul possesses the principle of thought
PAGE 282
as well as well as the spiritual or subtle body - the
principles of sensation, and the nervauric forces. The soul
and the principle of thought, etc., are not absent during
emancipation."VEDAANT SHAASTRA 4: 4, 11.
Again the sage Vyaasa believes "both in the presence
and absence of these powers in the state of emancipation, in
other words, he holds that the soul exists and retains all its
powers that are pure, whilst unholiness, sinfulness, pain and
ignorance and the like are absent." VEDAANT SHAASTRA 4: 4,12
"That condition of the soul in which it possesses a
pure manas - principle of thought, the five principles of
sensation, and in which the deliberations of the principle of
discernment are true and constant, is called the supreme state
or Emancipation." KATHOPANISHAD, 2: 6, 10.
"That Supreme Spirit, Who is free from sin, decay and
death, pain and sorrow, hunger and thirst, Whose thoughts and
desires are the very essence of truth, should be sought after.
It is by contact with the Divine Spirit that an emancipated
soul attains to all the conditions it wishes for, and realizes
all its desires, and it is through the knowledge of the
Supreme Soul that it learns the means of salvation and the
ways of self-purificcation." CHHAANDOGYA UPANISHAD, 8:7, 1.
So this emancipated soul sees al through pure spiritual
eyes, and a pure manas and thereby enjoys extreme bliss. The
soul that rests in the All-Glorious, Supreme Being -
Omnipresent, Omniscient Spirit, the Inward Controller of all -
Whom all men of
PAGE 283
Learning, imbued with piety and desirous of obtaining
salvation, worship and adore (by the practice of yoga), enjoys
the beatitude of emancipation. Verily it obtains all its
heart's desires and whatsoever worlds and states it wishes to
attain to. The emancipated soul leaves off its mortal coil and
roam about in space in the All-pervading God by the help of
the Spiritual body.
As long as the soul is embodied, it can never be free
from worldly pains and sorrows. Prajapati said to Indra,
'Listen, O thou who art wealthy and worthy of great respect!
This physical body is mortal. It is in the jaws of death very
much like a goat under the jaws of a lion (meaning that death
can overtake this body at anytime). It is the dwelling place
of the formless and immoral soul, which is, therefore,
constantly afflicted with pain or engrossed in pleasure,
because an embodied soul can never be free form worldly joys
or sorrows. On the other hand, the un-embodied, emancipated
soul, that lives in God, can neither be affected by joys nor
by sorrows. It continually enjoys perfect bliss.
11. Does the soul, once being emancipated,
ever become subject to birth and death again?
It is
said in the Chhaandogya Upanishac:-
"The soul after being
emancipated never comes back again into this world."
CHHAANDOGYA 8:7, 1.
"Again it is written in the Vedaant Shaastras:
"The
Veda declares there is no coming back, no coming back declares
the Veda."VEDANT SHAASTRA 4: 4, 33.
The Gita also says:-
"That Supreme State from which
it - the soul - never falls back (into this world) is mine."
It is clear from these quotations that that alone is
called (the state of) Emancipation from which the soul never
returns into this world. What is your view?
PAGE 284
A.~ It is not true that the emancipated soul never
returns to this world because the Veda contradicts this view.
"Whose name should we hold sacred; Who is that
All-glorious, Resplendent Being Who is imperishable among all
the perishable things; Who having made us enjoy the bliss of
emancipation again invests us with bodies and thereby gives us
the pleasure of seeing our parents? It is the All-glorious,
Eternal, Immortal, All-pervading, Supreme Being Whose name we
should hold sacred. He, it is, Who helps us to enjoy the bliss
of Emancipation and then bring us back into this world,
clothes us with bodies, and thereby gives us the pleasure of
seeing our parents. The same Divine Spirit it is Who regulates
the period of Emancipation and lords over all." RIG VEDA 1:24,
2.
Again says the Saankhya Shaastra,
"Souls live in
Bondage and Emancipation as they are at the present time.
There is no everlasting (Atyanta) Bondage or emancipation."
SAANKYA 1:159.
Q. But the Niyaaya Shaastra says:-
"(Atyanta)
Everlasting freedom from pain alone is called Emancipation,
because it is only freedom form false ideas, ignorance, vices
(such as covetousness) and from engrossment in sensual
gratification and contraction of evil habits, and consequent
immunity from birth and pain, that brings about Emancipation
which is everlasting.*
A.~ The word Atyanta does not necessarily always mean
everlasting, because we very often say that such a man
is
* Even the word Everlasting in
English does not mean unending, it sometimes used to express
the same idea as atyanta, i.e., extreme - Tr.
PAGE 285
in atyanta pain or enjoys atyanta pleasure. Now here
atyanta means extreme. What we, therefore, mean is that that
man is in extreme pain or enjoys extreme pleasure. Similarly
the word atyanta in the above quotations means extreme, not
everlasting or etenal.
12. If the soul returns to this world form
the state of emancipation, what is the duration of
Emancipation then?
A.~
"The emancipated soul returns to this world from the state of
emancipation in the Omnipresent God till after the end of the
Grand-Dissolution (Mahaakalpa) and, thereafter, parts with
that bliss and is again born into this world." MUNDAK
UPANISHAD 3: 2, 6.
The period covered by Grand-Dissolution
is calculated thus:-
Time is first divided into four yugas or
cycles:-
Satyuga (Golden age)…………………………………..1,728,000
years.
Dvaaparyuga (Silver age)………………………………1,296,000
years
Tretaayuga (Bronze age)…………………………………864,000
years
Kaliyuga (Iron or dark age)………………………………432,000
years
----------- -
Total ………. 4,320,000 years
Thus 4,320,000 years make one Chaturyugi
2,000 Chaturyugi is 8,640, 000,000 years and is
equal to an Ahoratra (Day and Night)
30 Ahoratras equal one Maasa (month)
12 Maasas equal one Prantakal
(Grand-dissolution).
Thus, the duration of Emancipation = 100 x 12x
30 x 2000 x 4,320,000 = 311, 040,000,000,000 years.
Q. All others writers teach and all the world
believes that the emancipation is that condition from which no
souls returns to this world and becomes subject to births and
deaths.
PAGE 286
A.~ This view can never be true. Firstly, when the
powers of the soul, its instruments (such as body and bodily
organs), and its means are all finite, how could the reward
extend over an infinite period? Secondly, the soul does not
possess infinite capacity, infinite means and infinite
activity to enjoy infinite bliss, how could it then enjoy
Everlasting happiness? How could the end be eternal when the
means to accomplish it are non-eternal? Thirdly, if no souls
came back from the state of emancipation, the world should
become bereft of them.
13. No, there can be no dearth of souls,
because the emancipated souls are replaced by new ones that
God creates.
A.~
- Firstly, if that be the case the soul would become
non-eternal (mortal), because a thing that is created must
perish. Therefore, according to your own view the soul even
on obtaining emancipation would perish, hence emancipation
becomes non-eternal.
- Secondly, in the place wherein emancipated souls live
- otherwise called Heaven - there will be a great deal of
hustling, crowding and jostling, as there will be no end of
increase in the population for the simple reason that
immigration will be so great, whilst emigration will be nil.
- Thirdly, there can be no perception of pain. For
example, you would not know sweet taste from bitter or
bitter from sweet, if you would only taste one of them -
sweet or bitter - all your life-time, because it is only by
comparing the flavours of things possessing opposite tastes
that we form an idea of both. If a man were always to eat
and drink sweet things only, he would not enjoy them so much
as one who tastes all kinds of food.
- Fourthly, if God were to give the soul unlimited
happiness as the fruit if its actions that are limited
(finite), His justice would be destroyed. A wise man does
not put on his man's shoulders a load heavier than he can
carry. If a man can only carry a load of eighty pounds and
his master puts a weight of eight hundred pounds on his
head, he is certainly worthy of censure. Similarly, it would
not be right for God to load the soul, possessed of finite
power and finite knowledge, with everlasting happiness.
- Fifthly, if you say that God creates new souls, the
material out of which He creates them will eventually run
short; because a bank, however wealthy it may be that has a
constant drain on it, but has no income, is sure to become
bankrupt sooner or later. It follows, therefore, that this
arrangement
PAGE 287
alone - viz., Emancipation and then return from it -
is the right one.
- Sixthly, there is no man who would prefer
life-imprisonment (or hanging) to imprisonment for a shorter
term. There being no return from Emancipation, it differs
from life-imprisonment only in this respect that one has not
to work there.
With regard to Emancipation as absorption into God
(which is the plea of salvation according to some people)it
is like death by drowning one-self into the
sea.
14. The soul can enjoy eternal bliss..
and
be emancipated everlastingly just as God lives in enjoyment of
Perfect and Everlasting Bliss and is Eternally free from
worldly joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain.
A.~ God is infinite by nature, His essence, powers,
attributes are all infinite. He can, therefore, never be
subject to ignorance, pain and bondage, etc. The soul, even
when emancipated, remains, finite in knowledge, though pure in
nature. Its attributes, powers and activity all remain finite.
It can, therefore, never be like God.
15. This being the case, Emancipation is
no better than birth and death. It is useless, therefore, to
endeavour to obtain it.
A.~ It
is not like birth and death. The bliss of Emancipation extends
over the period of Creations and Dissolutions for thirty-six
thousand times. Is uninterrupted happiness with perfect
absence of pain extending over such a long period trifling?
You eat and drink to-day, though you know you will be hungry
again before the day is out. Why do you try to appease your
hunger and quench your thirst then? If it is considered
necessary to endeavour to appease hunger and quench thirst,
acquire worldly possessions, and temporal power and fame, have
a wife and children and the like, why is it not the same for
emancipation? Though death is certain, yet we work in order to
live. In like manner, though the return from emancipation is
certain, still it is extremely desirable that we should do our
best to obtain it.
16. What are the means of obtaining
Emancipation?
A.~
Some of them have already been mentioned but the special means
are the following:-
(1)
- Let him who desires emancipation be emancipated now
in this life. In other words, let him renounce all those
evil or sinful
PAGE 288
actions, such as untruthfulness in speech, that lead
to misery and pain. Let him, instead, always live a virtuous
life and do such good deeds (e.g., veracity in speech) as
lead to happiness. Let him, who wants to escape from pain
and enjoy happiness, abandon sin and practice righteousness;
because sin is the cause of pain and suffering, whilst
righteousness begets happiness.
- Let him always associate with men of great learning
and piety, and thereby studiously know truth from untruth,
virtue from vice, and right from wrong.
- Let him ascertain that the body comprises five
systems (koshas - also translated into Sheaths by some
writers):-
(i) The Physical system which comprises all
the tissues and fluids of the body from bone to skin. It is
the gross physical body or system.
(ii) The Vital
system which comprises the five great vital or nervauric
forces:-
[1] Praana or the Expiratory force which
helps to draw the air out.
[2] Apaana or the
Inspiratory force which helps to draw the air into the
lungs.
[3] Samaana or the Solar-sympathetic force
which is situated in the center of the abdomen, and serves
to carry rasa, i.e., chyle -the essence of food - and blood
to all parts of the body.
[4]Udaana or
Glosso-pharyngeal force which helps to draw the food down
the throat into the stomach, etc., and give rise to strength
and energy.
[5] Vyaana or the Motor- muscular
force which helps the soul to move or do anything - the
cause of motion.
(iii) The Mento- motor system which comprises the
principle of volition, the principle of individuality, and
the five principles of action, viz., articulation, grasp,
locomotion, reproduction and excretion.
PAGE 289
(iv) The Mento-sensory system which comprises the
principle of judgement, the principle of memory, and the
five principles of sensation, viz., sight, hearing, taste,
smell and touch. It is through these that the soul carries
on such processes, as thinking and the like.(v) The
Spirituo-emotional system which comprises love,
cheerfulness, happiness - great or little. The elementary
matter called prakritiis the medium through which the soul
entertains these feelings.
The above-mentioned five systems are the media
through which the soul acquires all kinds of knowledge,
carries on all the mental processes, and performs all its
actions.
- Let him realize that there are three states or phases
of the soul:-
(1) Wakeful phase.
(2) Dreaming phase.
(3) Slumbering phase, sound sleep or sushupti in which
there is no consciouness of the outside world, nor are there
any dreams.
17. How many kinds of bodies are there?
- Let him know that there are four kinds of
bodies:-
[1] The gross physical body which is seen
and felt.
[2] The subtle (spiritual or astral) body
which comprises seventeen principles:- five nervauric or
vital principles, five principles of sensation, and five
physical principles such as Prithivi (solid), apaah (air),
agni (heat/electricity), etc., in subtle form, and the
principles of volition and discernment. It also accompanies
the soul in all its births and deaths. It is of two kinds:-
a. Material which is derived from the fine particles of
subtle matter.
b.Spiritual or natural which comprises the
natural powers and attributes of the soul.
Both these
remain with the soul in the state of Emancipation, and it is
through them that the soul enjoys the bliss of emancipation.
PAGE 290
[3] The casual body (kaarana shrira) which
consists of the elementary matter - prakriti. It is
all-pervading and therefore, common to all souls. It is
through this that the soul enters into the state called
sound dreamless sleep.
[4] The turya (superior) body is that through
which the soul is absorbed in the contemplation of the
All-blissful Supreme Spirit in the state of samaadhi
(superior condition) developed by the practice of yoga and
perfect concentration. The energy born of this pure body -
the product of the pure influence of the superior condition
- is of great service to the soul in Emancipation.
The soul itself is distinct from all the
above-mentioned systems, states, and bodies. That the soul
is distinct from states is evident from the fact that when a
man dies, everyone says that the soul has passed out of the
body. The soul alone is the prompter, the possessor, the
seer, the doer, and the reaper of the fruits of its actions.
Know him, who says that the soul is not the doer nor the
reaper, to be ignorant and destitute of reason; because all
these bodies, etc., are by themselves dead and inert.
They can never feel any pain nor pleasure, nor can
they do anything - good or evil , though it is true that the
soul in conjunction with them does sinful and virtuous deeds
and reaps the fruits thereof - pain or pleasure.
When the senses come in contact with the external
objects, and the manas - the principle of attention - acts
on conjunction with the senses, and the soul with the manas,
it incites the mervauric forces into action - good or evil,
the soul is then said to be directed outwardly, and at that
very moment feelings of happiness, cheerfulness and
fearlessness spring up in the mind from within when the act
is good, while those of fear, shame and distrust when it is
evil.
It is the voice of the Omnisicient Divine spirit -
the Inward Controller of all from within. Verily he alone
who follows this voice and acts accordingly - enjoys the
bliss of Emancipation. Whosoever goes against the dictates
of this voice suffers from misery and pain - the result of
bondage.
PAGE
291
The above constitutes the first means of Salvation.
(2) Vairaagya is next. It consists in the
practice of truth and renunciation of untruth after carefully
discriminating right from wrong. In other words, it consists
in acquiring the knowledge of the nature, properties, and
characteristics of all things, from earth to Heaven (
literally God), in assiduously obeying God's commandments and
worshipping Him, in never going against His Will and in making
nature subservient to oneself.
(3)Shatak Sampatti - the performance of six
kinds of acts:-
- Sama consists in restraining one's soul and
manas (mind) from sin and temptation, and in always
practising righteousness.
- Dama consists in keeping the body and the
senses aloof from doing evil deeds, such as adultery, and in
practising self-control and living a chaste life.
- Uprati consists in never associating oneself
with the wicked.
- Titiksha consists in becoming deaf to all
worldly applause or censure, and indifferent to profit or
loss, joy or sorrow, and in throwing oneself heart and soul
into the pursuit of the ways and means of
Emancipation.
- Samaadhaana is the concentration of mind.
(4) Mumukshatwa is perfect devotion to and
unflinching love for nothing but emancipation and the means of
obtaining it like a hungry or thirsty man who desires nothing
else but food and drink. These are the four saadhanaas or
means of attaining Emancipation. Next come what are called
Anubandhaas (subsidiary means) so called because they
come after the saadhanaas or means.
Anubandhaas (subsidiary means) are four in number:-
- Adhikaari is the worthiness to become a
recepticle unto the Divine spirit.
PAGE 292
- Sambandha is the thorough knowledge of the
Veda and Shaastra and of (the means of emancipation) -
another name for seeing God - explained therein, and the
realization thereof.
- Vishayee is making the realization of God -
the subject matter of all Shaastraas - as the one object of
one's life.
- Prayojana is the exemption from all misery and
pain, and he perfect enjoyment of the great bliss of
Emancipation.
After anubandhaas (subsidiary means) comes
Shravana Chatushthayaa. It is also four
kinds:-
- Shravana is to listen most attentively with
calm mind to the discourse or speech of a learned man and
more so if the subject be Divine science, because it is the
most abstruse and the subtlest of all the sciences.
- Manana is thinking over what one has heard in
retirement, and in removing doubts if there be any by
questioning the speaker. Questions may sometimes be asked
even in the middle of a discourse if the speaker and the
audience think proper.
- Nidhidhyaasana. When all doubts are cleared
after hearing a discourse and thinking over it, let the
enquirer enter into the superior condition and see for
himself by the help of yoga whether it is the same as he had
heard and reasoned out or not. This is called
Nidhidhyaasana.
- Saakhshaata Karana is the resulting correct
knowledge of the nature, properties and characteristics of
the desired object.
Let him ( i.e., the seeker after Salvation) always
renounce qualities and habits that are the result of the
darkness of mind (Tamoguna), such as anger, uncleanliness -
both physical and mental - indolence, and infatuation. Let him
also hold himself aloof from Rajoguna, i.e., passions, such as
jealousy, hatred, lust, conceit and restlessness of spirit,
and instead, acquire Satoguna, i.e., good qualities, such as
tranquility of mind, gently disposition, purity, knowledge and
ideas.
PAGE 293
Let him be friends with the happy, kind to those who
are in pain and distress, love those who are good and
virtuous, but neither love nor hate those who are wicked. Let
the seeker after salvation always devote at least two hours
daily to meditation of devotional exercises and mentally see
all the subtle principles within the body, such as the
principle of thought, etc.
We are conscious beings. Therefore, it is that we can
acquire and possess knowledge, and see exactly whatever state
the mind - the manas - is in, as for instance tranquil or
restless, happy or sorrowful. Similarly, we are conscious of
the doings of the senses, can remember what we have seen
before, are cognizant of different ideas and objects at
different times; attract and sustain others and yet we are
distinct from all of them; otherwise the soul could never be a
free-agent, nor the prompter and sustainer of the principle of
thought, the senses, the body and the bodily organs.
In this world there are five kinds of Klesha
(pain):-
- Ignorance. It has already been described (in
the beginning of this Chapter).
- Asmitaa is to regard the principle of
discernment and soul as one and the same thing.
- Raaga is the love of pleasure.
- Dvesha is aversion to pain.
- Abhinivesha is the fear of death. All living
beings have continually the desire to live for ever and do
not wish to die
Let every man free himself from these five kinds of
klesha ( pain) by means of the practice of yoga and the
acquisition of spiritual knowledge, the realization of God,
and enjoy the supreme bliss of Emancipation.
19. The kind of salvation you believe in
is quite different from that of the rest of the world.
Now
the Jainees hold that salvation consists is going to Shivapuri
and sitting there quietly on a platform called Moksha Shilla
(the stone of salvation); the salvation of the Christians
consists in going to the fourth Heaven wherein they
PAGE 294
enjoy themselves by singing, playing and putting on
fine dresses, and marrying and fighting; whilst the Mohamedans
believe that salvation consists in going to the seventh
Heaven, Vaama Maargis to Shripur, Shaivites to Kailaash,
Vaishnavites to Baikunth, and Gosaaeens to Golaka and enjoying
life by means of beautiful wives, pretty dresses and houses,
nice foods and drinks. The Pouraaniks ( the followers of the
Puraanaas0 believe in five kinds of salvation:-
- Residence in the same world with God.
- Living with God as His younger brother.
- Becoming like God in nature.
- Living near God as a servant lives near his master.
- Intimate union with God.
Last of all, the Vedaantis hold that salvation
consists in the absorption of the soul into
God.
A.~ We
shall discuss the different kinds of salvation which the
Jainees, the Mohamedans, and the Christians believe in the
twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, respectively, of
this book. The salvation of the Vaama Maargis, which consists
in nothing else but eating meat and drinking wine, hearing
love songs and enjoying themselves with women, is no better
than what you get in this world. They look upon all men as
Mahaadeva or Vishnu, and all women as Paaravati or Lakshmi and
enjoy themselves with each other.
Now this is no better than what the princes and other
wealthy people do in this world except what they say that
there will be no disease in heaven and that you will always
remain young, which can never be true; because wherever there
is enjoyment of sensual pleasures, there is disease, and
wherever there is disease, there is old age. The puraaniks
should be told that their five kinds of salvation are
attainable even to animals, insects and worms without any
effort on their part.
Take for example, the first kind of their salvation.
All these worlds wherein all living beings exist are God's Who
lives in all of them, hence they live in the same world with
God. Salvation number (2) is also possessed by the soul
without any effort on its part; because being smaller than God
and both being conscious entities it is like a younger brother
to God. (3) As regards the third kind of salvation, being a
spirit and possessing,
PAGE 295
consciousness and being pure in nature the soul is like
God, but it can never be like Him in infinite power, infinite
activity and infinite attributes. As regards salvation number
(4), God being Omnipresent all souls are near Him, hence all
of them already possess this kind of salvation. The same may
be said of salvation number (5). God being All-pervading, He
also resides in the soul. Hence the latter is in intimate
union with God.
The disintegration of the body and the soul into their
component parts, which is called salvation (nirvaana) by some
atheists (Buddhists), is attainable even to dogs and donkeys.
All these kinds of salvation are no salvation at all.
They are really prisons, because all those people believe
their respective Heavens, such as Shivpuri, the fourth Heaven,
or the seventh Heaven, shripur, Kailash, Vaikunth and Golaka,
to be definite worlds or places (of residence). Were their
inmates to leave those places, they would lose their
salvation. They are, therefore, rather like prisoners
imprisoned in dark cells out of which they dare not go.
The true salvation or emancipation consists in this
that the soul should go about wherever it likes without any
let or hindrance, and should have no fears, doubts, or
sorrows.
The union of the soul with body is called its birth,
while the severance of this link is called death or
dissolution.
The emancipated souls are born again in the due course
of time.
20. Do you believe in the unity or the
plurality of birth (of soul)?
A.~ In
the plurality of births.
Why can the soul then remember what happened in its
previous births and deaths?
A.~ The soul is finite in knowledge and powers. It is
not the seer of the three periods of time - the past, the
present and future - it cannot therefore recall its past.
Besides, the manas - the principle of thought and attention -
by means of which the soul knows cannot have tow ideas, i.e.,
of the past as well as the present - at one and the same time.
Let alone things that happened in the previous life of the
soul, can a man remember all that happens in this very life
form the time of conception till, say, the age of five. We see
and hear so many different things while we are awake, and
dream of so many different things while in slumber, why can we
not recall
PAGE 296
all those things when we are in deep sleep? You could
never tell, if you were asked, for example, what you were
doing on the ninth day of the fifth month of the thirteenth
year of your life exactly at ten in the morning; which way you
were looking; what the position of your head and hands was;
whether your mouth was open or shut; and what you were then
thinking of? When such is the case even in this life, how
absurd then to question the validity of the previous existence
of the soul simply because it cannot recall what happened in
that life?
It is a good thing too that the soul cannot remember
its past, otherwise there would have been no happiness for it.
It would have died of sheer pain and mental anguish brought on
by brooding over the terrible sufferings and sorrows of it
past lives. No man can ever know that happened in his past
lives even if he were to try to do so; because the soul's
power and knowledge are limited.. God alone can know that.
21. How can the punishment, that God
inflicts on the soul, reform it..
.. when it cannot remember its past;
because the punishment could prevent it from committing any further sins
only if it were to know that such and such a punishment was meted out to it
for such and such a sin.
A.~ How many kinds of knowledge do you believe in?
Q. Eight kinds, such as knowledge through direct
cognition, through Inference, through analogy, etc.
A.~ Why can you not then infer the existence of the
previous life of the soul form seeing different peple born and
brought up under different conditions in this world such as
affluence and poverty, happiness and misery, talent and
idiocy, etc. Suppose a physician and a layman are taken ill.
The physician at once finds out the cause that brought on the
disease on him, while the layman cannot; because the former
has studied Medical Science while the latter has not. But even
the layman knows this much that he must have violated some law
of nature - dietetic or sanitary, etc., - to bring on the
disease, such as fever. Similarly, why can you not infer the
pre-existence of the soul by observing people afflicted with
pain and suffering, or endowed with pleasures or joys of this
world in unequal proportions - results of their actions not in
the present life? If you refuse to believe in the
pre-existence of the soul, how do you think it to be
consistent with the justice of God
PAGE 297
to bless some with riches, power, and talent, etc.,
while afflict others with poverty, suffering, idiocy and the
like without their having done anything - good or evil - in
their previous lives to deserve them? God can be just only
when He gives the soul pleasure or pain according to its good
or evil deeds done in its previous lives.
Q. The belief in the unity of birth is not
inconsistent with the justice of God. He is like a Sovereign
Ruler, whatsoever he does is just. He may also be likened to a
gardener who implants trees big and small in his grove, some
he trims, others he cuts down, others still he protects (from
wind and cattle, etc.), improves and multiples. One can do
whatever one likes with one/s own. In like manner, God can do
whatever He likes (with His world). There is no one above Him
who could punish Him or whom He should fear.
A.~ God always desires justice and acts justly,
therefore, it is that he is Great and worthy of our homage and
adoration. He would not be God if He acted unjustly. A
gardener who plants trees aimlessly or promenades or other
places, cuts down trees that do not require cutting,
multiplies those that are fit to be multiplied, and does not
multiply those that are suitable for multiplying, is worthy of
blame.
In like manner would God be blameworthy were He to act
without a reasonable cause. It is absolutely necessary for God
to act justly, because He is pure and just by nature. Should
He act like a madman? He would even be beneath a good judge of
this world, and would no longer be honoured. Does not a judge,
in this world, who punishes the innocent and awards honour t
those who have done nothing to deserve it, merit blame and
forfeit his honour? God never does anything that is unjust.
He, therefore, fears none.
22. God has pre-ordained all. He gives one
or acts by one whatsoever He had determined before-hand to
give or do.
A.~
His determination is always in accordance with the actions of
the soul. Should it be otherwise, He would be unjust and
guilty.
23. All men have the same amount of misery
and happiness. .
The
great have great cares, whilst the small have small troubles
and cares. A rich merchant, for instance, has a law suit, of
say 100,000 rupees, in a Court of law. He leaves his house in
a palanquin
PAGE 298
(borne on the shoulders of men) for the Court on a
very hot day. The ignorant, when they see him thus passing
through a street, cry out "Behold the might of virtue land
vice. One is comfortably sitting in the palanquin, whilst the
others are bearing him on their shoulders bare-footed with a
burning ground underneath and a scorching sun over head." But
the wise know that as the Court is drawing nigh, the anxiety
of the merchant, his doubts and fears are increasing, while
the palanquin bearers are getting easier at the prospect of
being soon relieved from their burden.
When at last they get to the court, the merchant thinks
of going hither and thither. He soliloquizes thus "Shall I go
to see by counsel or shall I see the clerk of the Court first?
Shall I win or lose to-day? Oh! I wish I knew what was going
to happen" and so on. The palanquin bearers, on the other
hand, chat together, smoke, feel happy, and enjoy their
siesta. If the merchant wins, he feels a bit happy, if he
loses, he sinks into the depths of misery, whilst the
palanquin bearers are affected neither one way nor the other.
They remain just as they were before the case was
decided. Similarly, when a king lays himself down on his
beautiful and soft bed, he does not go to sleep quicker than a
labourer who falls asleep as soon as he stretches himself on
uneven earth covered with stones and pebbles. The same is true
of all other conditions seemingly unequal.
A.~ Only the ignorant can believe that all are equally
happy or miserable. If a rich merchant and apalanquin bearer
were asked to change their places with one another, the
merchant would never like to become a palanquin bearer, while
the latter would simply jump at the offer. Had they been
equally happy or miserable, the merchant would never have
refused to change his place with the palanquiin bearer, nor,
would the latter have liked to become a rich merchant.
Behold the difference between the happiness and misery
of the different people! One soul comes into the womb of the
queen of a great righteous and learned king, whilst another in
that of the wife of a poor miserable grass-cutter. One is
happy and well-cared for in every way since the day of its
conception, whilst the other suffers in a hundred different
ways. When one is born, he is bathed with pure fragrant water,
and his cord is carefully cut. He is properly fed and cared
for. When he is hungry, he is given milk mixed
PAGE 299
with sugar and other necessary ingredients in proper
proportions. There are servants to wait upon him, toys for him
to play with, conveyances to take him out to pretty and
healthy places. He is well-loved, and is happy. The other is
born in a jungle, where not even water is to be had to wash
him. When he is hungry and wants milk, he slapped on the face
instead, cries most pitifully, but no one attends to him and
so on.
The infliction of suffering or the awarding of
happiness to souls, without their having previously done acts
- sinful or virtuous - to deserve it, would disgrace God.
Besides, if we suffer or enjoy here in this world without
having previously done anything - sinful or virtuous - our
going to Hell or Heaven after d4ath ought not to be dependent
on our deeds done in this life, because just as God has given
us pleasure or pain her without our having previously done
sinful or virtuous deeds, so would He send some of us to Hell,
others to Heaven just according to His pleasure.
Why should men then practice virtue. (If this logic be
accepted) all would become wicked and lead sinful lives;
because it is doubtful if virtue will bear any fruit. It all
rests with God. He would do just as it would please Him. No
one will thus fear sin which will consequently multiply,
whilst virtue will decay. It follows therefore that the
present birth of the soul is in accordance with its deeds -
sinful and virtuous - in the past, whilst the future will be
determined by its present and past modes of life - righteous
or unrighteous.
24. Are souls in the bodies of men and
animals of the same nature or different?
A.~
They are all of the same nature, but are pure or impure
according as they are virtuous or sinful.
Q. Do the souls of men go into bodies of animals and
vice versa; and do souls of men go into souls of women and
vice versa?
A.~ Yes, they do. When sin predominates over virtue in
a man, his soul goes into the bodies of lower animals and the
like when virtue predominates over sin in a soul, it is born
as a good and learned person. When sin and virtue are equal,
the soul is born as an ordinary man. Sin and virtue being of
three different grades - superior, medium, and inferior - men
can be divided into three classes according as they are
possessed of superior, medium and
PAGE 300
inferior kind of material (bodies, bodily powers,
mental capacities and talents, etc.). When sin preponderates
over virtue, the soul suffers the consequences of its sin in
the bodies of lower animals and the like, till its sins and
virtues are equalized when it is invested with a human body.
Similarly, when it has enjoyed the excess of virtue over sin,
it is born as an ordinary man.
The separation of the soul from the body is called
death, whist its union with the body is called birth. When the
soul leaves the body, it lives in the atmosphere (yama),
because it is said in the Veda, "Yama,is another name for
air." Thereafter the Great Judge - God - embodies that soul
according to the nature of its deeds done in the previous
life. Guided by God it enters the body of some living creature
with air, water, food, drink or through any one of the
openings of the body.
Having entered it, it gradually reaches the
reproductive element, the thereby establishes itself in the
womb, and is thus invested with a body and eventually born. It
is clothed with a male or a female body, just as it merits a
male or a female one; whilst a hermaphrodite is formed by the
union of the male and the female reproductive elements in
equal proportions at the same time of conception.
The soul is continually chained down to this wheel of
births and deaths till by the practice of the highest virtue
and complete absorption into Divine contemplation and the
acquisition of the highest knowledge it obtains Emancipation.
By the practice of deeds of the highest virtue, etc., it is
born as a good and great personage among men; and being freed
from births and deaths and the consequent pain and suffering,
it enjoys perfect bliss in Emancipation till the end of the
Grand-Dissolution.
25. Can Emancipation be obtained in one
life or in more than one?
A.~ In
more than one; because it is said in the
Upanishad:-
"Verily it is only when all the knots of its
heart - darkness, and ignorance - are severed, all its doubts
dispelled, and when it sins no longer that the soul
PAGE 301
finds rest in that Supreme Spirit Who pervades it both
within and withou." MUNDAK 2: 8.
26. Is the soul in Emancipation absorbed
into God or does it retain its individuality?
A.~ It
retains its separate individuality, for should it get absorbed
into the Divine Spirit, who would then enjoy the bliss of
Emancipation. Besides, all the hardships borne, all the
efforts made and all the means employed to obtain Emancipation
would become useless. Absorption of the soul into the Divine
Spirit is not Emancipation but its death or annihilation. It
is only the soul that obeys the will of God, follows the
highest virtue, associates with the good and the great
practices yoga and employs all the aforesaid means, that
obtains emancipation. Says the Upanishad:-
"The soul that knows the Supreme Spirit Who is
All-truth, All-knowledge and All-Bliss and resides in the very
interior of the soul and the principle of discernment, finds
rest in the Omnipresent Great God and thereby, being in
harmony with the Indefinite Omniscient Supreme Being all its
(righteous) desires are gratified. In other words, whatever
happiness it wishes for it obtains." TAITREYA ANANDVALLI 1.
27. When the soul cannot enjoy worldly
happiness without a body, how could it then enjoy the bliss of
Emancipation without a physical body?
A.~ We
have answered this objection before, but will add that the
soul enjoys the bliss of emancipation through God in the same
way as it enjoys the worldly pleasures through the body. The
emancipated soul roams about in the Infinite all-pervading God
as it desires, sees all nature through puree knowledge, meets
other emancipated souls, sees all the laws, of nature in
operation, goes about in all the worlds visible and invisible,
sees all objects that it comes across, the more its knowledge
increases the happier it feels.
Being altogether pure, the soul acquires perfect
knowledge of all hidden things in the state of Emancipation.
This extreme bliss alone is called Heaven (swarga), while
pursuit of worldly
PAGE 302
Desires and consequent pain and suffering are called
Hell (naraka). Swarga literally means happiness. The ordinary
happiness id called worldly happiness. Whilst the extreme
happiness born of the realization of God is called
Extraordinary happiness or Heaven (Swarga).
All men naturally desire to obtain happiness and escape
form pain and misery. But as long they do not practice
righteousness and renounce sin, so long they cannot obtain
happiness and be freed from pain and suffering; because the
effect cannot perish as long as the cause exists. It is said
"All pain and suffering cease as soon as sin is destroyed just
as a tree perishes when its root is cut away."
19a. Sattvic, Rajasik & Tamasic
- three-fold nature of the mind.
Mark, how Manu 12: 8, 9, 25, 33, 35-38. describes
the manifold course of sin and virtue:-
"Let a man
thus know this three-fold nature (of mind) - the
highest, the mean, and the lowest degree - cultivate the
disposition of the highest kind and reject the other
two. Let him also bear in mind that the soul has a
reward - happiness - or a punishment - pain and
suffering - for his acts - mental through mind, verbal
through its organs of speech, and corporeal through its
physical body."
"For the corporeal sinful acts (such as theft,
adultery and killing or injuring the good) a man shall
assume a vegetable form; for verbal sinful acts, the
form of a bird or an animal; and for sinful acts mostly
mental, the lowest of human conditions."
"The quality that predominates in physical body
renders the embodied soul eminently distinguished for
that quality."
"The possession of true ideas by the soul is
declared to be an indication of Sattva (Superior).
Ignorance betokens Tamas (lowest). Passion of love and
hatred signify Rajas (medium). These three attributes,
i.e., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas of the Prakriti are to be
found in all things."
PAGE 303
"When a man feels that there is tranquility,
peacefulness, and contentment in his mind and also his
soul is pure as the purest light, let him know then that
the Sattva predominates; whilst the Rajas
and Tamas occupy a subordinate position."
"When the soul is unhappy, has no peace of mind,
is restlessly engaged in the pursuit of sensual objects,
let him then know that it is the Rajas that
predominates, whilst the Sattva and Tamas
are suppressed."
"When the soul and the manas - the
principle of thought - are engaged in the headlong
pursuit of worldly things, lose all sense of right and
wrong, are thoroughly infatuated with sensual
gratification and absolutely incapable of discussion a
subject, and are extremely dull of understanding, let
him understand that it is the Tamas that
predominates in him."
"Now we shall describe at large, the various
results in the highest, mean and lowest degrees that
proceed from those three qualities."
"Study of the Veda - source of all true
knowledge -, strict devotion to duty, the advancement of
knowledge, the desire for purity - corporeal and
spiritual, self-control, the practice of righteousness
and Divine contemplation verily betoken Sattva."
"Spasmodic zeal, impatience, practice of
unrighteous act, and habitual indulgence in sensual
gratification are the signs of the
PAGE 304
preponderance of Rajas and the comparative
suppression of the Tamasand Sattva."
"Extreme covetousness - the root of all evils -
extreme indolence, stupidity and sleepiness,
discontents, cruelty, atheism, i.e., want of faith in
God and the Veda, distraction of mind, want of
mental concentration, and contraction of evil habits
should be looked upon by a wise man as indications of
Tamas. It is the Tamas, then, that
predominates whilst the Rajas and Sattva
are not markedly manifest."
"Besides, whenever a man's soul feels shame,
doubt and fear in having done, in doing or in going to
do an act, let him know that the Tamas greatly
preponderates in him."
"When a man seeks great fame in this world, and
does not cease giving money to flatters, flunkeys, and
parasites: poor though he be, let him understand that
the Rajas preponderates in him."
"When a man's soul thirsts after knowledge, not
matter where it comes from, cultivates good qualities,
feels no shame in doing good actions at which it greatly
rejoices, in other words is always desirous of
practicing righteousness, let him know then that the
Sattva predominates."
"The craving for sensual gratification is an
index of Tamas, the desire for the acquisition of
worldly possession, or Rajas and the
PAGE 305
practice of righteousness, of < b>.
The last mentioned is superior to Rajas, and that
in its turn is superior to Tamas. Now we shall
describe the conditions that each of these qualities
-Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - leads to:-
"Those endowed with Sattava attain to the
state of the learned, godly men. Those, who are
possessed of Rajas, become men, while those
immersed in Tamas fall into the condition of
lower orders."
"Vegetables (as trees), worms and insects, fish,
snakes, tortoise, cattle, and deer, and like, are the
forms which the lowest degree of Tamas leads to."
"Elephants, horses, extremely stupid and dull
persons, men of dirty habits and uncouth speech and
manners, ferocious animals, such as lions, wolves and
boars, re the forms that proceed from the mean degree of
Tamas."
"Flatterers,* beautiful birds, braggarts, cruel
blood-thirsty men, and those who drink wine and other
intoxicants habitually and are dirty in their habits,
are the conditions which proceed from the highest degree
of Tamas."
"Fencers (cudgel players, etc.), gardeners,
sailors, acrobats, armed servants and those who are
addicted to drinking and gambling result from the
Rajas of the lowest degree."
"Rulers, men of the governing class (statesmen,
soldiers, etc.), king's chaplains, controversialists,
ambassadors, lawyers, judges,
_
*Those who make poetical
compositions, etc., in praise of other in order to
flatter them.
PAGE 306
heads of the army and the like are occasioned by
the Rajas of the medium degree."
"Singers, musicians, men of great wealth and
resource, companions or associates of the great and good
men of vast learning or those who wait upon them, and
women of great beauty and physical charms are caused by
the Rajas of the highest quality."
"Those who are strictly devoted to their duties,
truth and righteousness, masters of their passions,
altruistic teachers of humanity - Sanyaasis,
teachers of the Veda, aeronauts, astronomers, physicians
or hygienist, i.e., those who devote themselves to the
science and art of the perfect development of the human
body, proceed from the Sattva of the lowest
degree."
"Philanthropists, seers of the Veda, godly
learned men, great scholars of the Veda,
professors of the science, of electricity, astronomy,
geology, etc. (literally, the science of time), those
who possess true knowledge and power which they use for
the good of others, and great Teachers result from the
Sattva of the medium degree.
"Masters of all four Vedas, masters of all the
sciences and arts, who invent (or construct) air ships
and such machines, those who are embodiments of
righteousness and wisdom, those who acquire control over
the elementary* result from the Sattva of the
highest degree."
"The ignorant, the basest among men who indulge
in their sensual appetites, renounce the practice of
righteousness and the performance of their duties and
lead sinful lives assume the basest forms and thereby
suffer various afflictions."
*Literally atoms and
first stage after their combination.
-Tr.
PAGE 307
Thus whatsoever act a man sows by virtue of the
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, the same shall he
reap. Those who are emancipated are beyond the pale of
these three qualities. Let every man, therefore,
endeavor to become great yogi (altruistic teacher) by
the practice of yoga, and employ himself in the
pursuit of those means that lead to
Emanicapation.
"Let a man restrain his mind from the doing of
acts that proceed from Rajas and Tamas and
thereafter even from those that result from
Sattva, and become imbued with purity and such
other good qualities."
" Let him then withdraw his mind from the senses,
aim it at righteousness, and make it concentrate on God.
This withdrawal of the mind from all things, and
concentrating it on one point is called yoga."
"After the mind is withdrawn and concentrated,
the soul is centered in God - the Seer of all - and
finds rest in Him." YOGA I: 2, 3.
Let a man practice all the above described means
of Emancipation and understand that
"Exemption
from pain which is of three kinds - that from physical
disorders, hunger and thirst, etc., that from other
living beings and that from natural causes such as
excessive heat or cold, or excessive or deficient rain,
or from the restlessness of mind and the senses - and
the consequent attainment of Emancipation is the
highest work." SAANKHYA SHASTRA,
1:1.
END OF CHAPTER 9 |
