by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 11(18)
‘The illustrious one said, “When a person goes to the forest, he can take his wife with him, or entrust her to the care of his sons. The third quarter of the lifespan should be spent in serenity in the forest. Subsistence must be ensured through bulbs, roots and fruits that grow in the middle of the forest. When residing in the forest, garments must be made out of bark, grass, leaves or deerskin. He must not clean his hair, body hair, beard or dirt on the body. He must not brush his teeth. He must immerse himself in the water thrice a day. 1148 He must sleep on the ground. In the summer, he must torment himself through five fires. 1149 During monsoon, he must stand in the rain. In the winter, he must submerge himself in water, up to the neck. He must perform austerities in this way. He can eat what has been cooked in the fire, or what has ripened in the course of time. The food can be ground with a pestle, or the teeth can be used as pestle and mortar. He must himself collect whatever is required for his subsistence, considering what is right for the time and the place and what he is capable of. He must not accept anything from anyone else. He can perform seasonal sacrifices by making cakes out of forest fare. However, a person in vanaprastha ashrama must not worship me through animal sacrifices mentioned in the shruti texts. While residing in the forest, aghihotra, darsha, pournamasa and chaturmasya sacrifices 1150 can be performed, as he used to do earlier. These are sanctioned by the sacred texts. Through the observance of such austerities, the sage seems to be covered with veins everywhere. Worshipping me with such austerities over a long period of time, he goes to the world of the rishis and obtains me. These extremely difficult austerities, performed over a long period of time, are for the sake of great benefit. Who but a fool will engage in such austerities for the sake of gratifying the senses? When his body starts to tremble and he is no longer capable of observing these rituals because of old age, he must ignite the fire within his atman. With his mind immersed in me, he must enter the fire.
‘“Karma obtains various things, including worlds that are no better than hell. When a person has completely cast aside the fires 1151 he can leave for sannyasa. Having worshipped me through the instructed sacrifices, he must give everything away to the officiating priests. He must withdraw the fires within his own prana and without any attachment, must take to sannyasa. For a brahmana who wishes to take to sannyasa, the gods create impediments in the form of wives and other things, since he might surpass them and obtain the supreme. If the sage wishes to wear anything more than a koupina, 1152 he can wear another garment on top of this. Unless there is a calamity, he should not possess anything other than a staff and a water pot. He must place his foot on the ground only after it has been purified through his eyes. 1153 He must drink water only after he has strained it with his garment. He must only speak what is the truth. He must only do what his mind thinks is pure. O dear one! Unless one accepts the rules of maintaining silence, giving up desire for anything in this world and controlling the breath, related to speech, body and the mind, one does not become a mendicant only because one has got a staff made out of bamboo. When a person roams around searching for alms, for all the four varnas, he must shun condemned households. Without any hopes, he must go to seven houses and no more and be content with whatever has been obtained. Taking this, he must go to a body of water that is outside. 1154 He must maintain silence. He must perform his ablutions. He must divide his food. 1155 Thus purified, he must completely 1156 eat whatever has been obtained. He must wander around the earth alone, without attachment and in control of his senses. He must find pleasure within his own atman. He must impartially look upon everything like his own self. He must reside in a solitary and safe place, cleaning his mind by being immersed in me. The sage must think of the atman alone, which is not different from me. Resorting to jnana, he must examine the atman and the nature of its bondage and liberation. The bondage occurs because of attachment to the senses and liberation is control over them. Therefore, controlling the six categories, 1157 the sage roams around, immersed in me. He is not attached to inferior desires. He obtains great happiness in the atman. He must travel the earth and go to sacred places, rivers, mountains, forests and hermitages. He must enter cities, villages, cowherd settlements and places where caravans gather only for the sake of alms. He must seek alms following the practice of those in vanaprastha ashrama, 1158 or practise shila-unchchha. He will then be quickly purified, become free of delusion and obtain success. He must never see reality in material objects. Anything visible will be destroyed. With the mind completely detached towards anything in this world or in the next world, he will not wish to do anything to pursue these. Through reasoning, he must establish that everything, the world, mind, speech, prana and everything else, is maya. Thus, basing himself on the atman, he must give up everything else and not remember them.
‘“My devotee who is devoted to jnana, without attachment and without desire for anything else, can give up all attributes connected to any ashrama. He can roam around, beyond these rules. Though wise, he should play like a child. Though accomplished, he should act like one who is stupid. Though learned, he should speak like a mad person. Though he knows about the sacred texts, he should tend to cattle. He should not engage in debates about the Vedas. He is not a heretic. But he is not a debater either. In pointless arguments and counter-arguments, he should not take either side. Such a patient person does not agitate other people, nor is he agitated by other people. He should tolerate harsh words and must never disrespect anyone. For the sake of the body, like an animal, he must never exhibit enmity towards anyone. The supreme atman is one and is present in the atmans of all creatures, just as the moon is reflected in different bodies of water. Therefore, other creatures are no different from one’s own self. At different times, he should not be distressed if he does not get food. At other times, he should not rejoice because he has obtained food. Fixed in his patience, he realizes that both these are the outcome of destiny. He must engage himself in trying to obtain food, since that is required for the sake of sustaining life. It is only through life that the truth can be contemplated. When one has discerned the truth, one is freed. A sage must accept whatever has come of its own accord, food, garments, bed, regardless of whether these are superior or inferior. I am the lord. Yet I engage in pastimes. Like that, a learned person must observe the rituals of cleanliness and bathing, not because he has been forced to do them. He has no sense of differentiation left. Having realized me, all that has been destroyed. However, as long as the body remains, sometimes, these perceptions recur. But after that, he merges into me. A person who has realized his atman knows that all objects of desire bring misery in the future. Therefore, non-attachment is generated. However, a sage who has not considered this dharma of devotion to me, must approach a guru. Until the devotee has got to realize the brahman as being nothing other than me, he must respectfully serve the guru with devotion and without any envy. A person who has not controlled the six categories, with the mind as the fierce charioteer of the senses, he is devoid of jnana and non-attachment. He resorts to the triple staff of sannyasa only as a means of subsistence. He destroys dharma and deceives the gods and his own atman. He also denies me. His impurities have still not ripened and he has destroyed this world and the next. The main dharma of a person in sannyasa is control and non-violence. The main dharma of a person in vanaprastha is austerities and examination. The main dharma of a person in garhasthya is protection of creatures and the performance of sacrifices. The main dharma of a dvija in brahmacharya is serving the preceptor. Brahmacharya, 1159 austerities, purity, satisfaction, friendliness towards creatures and approaching the wife in season are the duties of a householder. Everyone should worship me. In this way, a person must follow his own dharma and worship me and nothing else. He is conscious of me existing in all creatures and thereby develops firm devotion towards me. O Uddhava! I am the great lord of all the worlds. I am the brahman. I am the cause behind the creation and destruction of everything. A person who does not deviat
e from being devoted towards me obtains me. Thus, a person must engage in his own dharma and purify himself, thus ascertaining my nature. He becomes full of jnana and vijnana and soon obtains me. These are the signs and conduct of the dharma of the varnas and the ashramas. When devotion towards me is added to this, a person obtains the greatest benefit. O virtuous one! I have thus described to you what you had asked me about. This is the way one follows one’s own dharma and being devoted towards me, obtains me, the supreme.”’
Chapter 11(19)
‘The illustrious one said, “A person who possesses learning about the shruti texts, knows about the atman and does not depend on inferences, possesses the jnana that everything in the universe is only maya. Therefore, he renders everything to me. For those who possess jnana, I am the only object of worship. It is accepted that I am the goal and also the means of achieving that goal. I am the cause of happiness in heaven. I am also the cause of liberation. Therefore, other than me, nothing else is loved by him. A person who possesses jnana and vijnana knows that my state is the supreme object. I love a person who possesses jnana the most. A person who possesses jnana nurtures me. Austerities, tirthas, meditating, donations and other sacred acts do not obtain as much of success as a little bit of jnana ensures. O Uddhava! Therefore, using jnana, you should know your own atman. With jnana and vijnana and filled with devotion towards me, worship me. Earlier, sages possessed jnana and vijnana and used these to perform sacrifices to me, the atman, within their own atmans. I am the lord of sacrifices. Therefore, approaching me, they obtained success. O Uddhava! The three kinds of transformations 1160 become attached because of maya. They suddenly appear now. They didn’t exist in the beginning. Nor will they exist at the end. Birth, death and other things have to do with the body. What do they have to do with you? Something that did not exist in the beginning and will not exist at the end is unreal and only seems to exist in the middle.”
‘Uddhava said, “O lord of the universe! O one whose form is the universe! Please explain to me the ancient, pure and extensive nature of jnana and vijnana, which ensures non-attachment. Explain the bhakti yoga that the great seek out. In this path of samsara, I am terribly tormented and afflicted by the three kinds of miseries. 1161 O lord! I do not see any shelter other than at your two feet. They are like an umbrella and also shower down amrita. O one who is immensely powerful! This person has been bitten by the snake that is time. He has fallen into a hole and is thirsting after inferior pleasures. Show him your favours and raise him up to liberation by sprinkling your words on him.”
‘The illustrious one replied, “In earlier times, while all of us heard, King Ajatashatru asked Bhishma, supreme among the upholders of dharma, exactly this question. When the war among those of the Bharata lineage was over, he was overwhelmed by the destruction of his well-wishers. After hearing about many kinds of dharma, he finally asked about moksha dharma. The words emerging from Devavrata’s 1162 mouth spoke about jnana, non-attachment, vijnana, faith and bhakti. I will describe those to you. I approve of the jnana through which one sees the nine, the eleven, the five and the three attributes in all creatures 1163 and the one that permeates everything. In that way, when one no longer sees this differentiation, but the single one that is the cause, this is vijnana. Such a person sees that material attributes like creation, preservation and destruction are caused by the gunas. What is created is destroyed. What is destroyed is created again. From one creation to another, that which remains at the beginning, in the middle and at the end is the only entity that is real. Through four means—the shruti texts, direct experience, tradition and inference—one gets evidence that the material existence is transitory. Therefore, one becomes detached from this. Any karma leads to consequences and is therefore subject to transformations. It is inauspicious, even if it happens to be Virinchi’s position. A learned man perceives what is visible and what is not visible in the same way. O unblemished one! Since you love me, I have already spoken about bhakti yoga to you. I will again speak about bhakti towards me, the supreme method. Faithfully listening to my immortal accounts; constant chanting of my glories; devoted worship towards me; singing hymns in my praise; affectionately serving me; using all the limbs to be prostrate before me; using great devotion to worship my devotees; the perception that I exist in all creatures; using all physical activities for my sake; using speech to sing about my qualities; surrendering the mind to me; shunning all objects of desire; for my sake, giving up wealth, objects of pleasure and happiness; dedicating sacrifices, donations, oblations, chanting, vows and austerities to me—all these generate bhakti towards me. What other objective remains to be attained? If a person dedicates himself to me, he is serene and is full of sattva. He also obtains dharma, jnana, non-attachment and every kind of opulence. When the mind is surrendered to something else, the senses run around. Know that because of this devotion to rajas and the unreal in the consciousness, perverse effects result. Dharma is stated to be that which leads to bhakti towards me. Jnana is that which sees only me in everything. Non-attachment is being delinked from the gunas. Opulence means anima and the other things.”
‘Uddhava asked, “O afflicter of enemies! How many kinds of yama are there? What is the niyama that is spoken about? What is shama? What is dama? O Krishna! O lord! What are titiksha and dhriti? What is dana? What is tapas? What is shourya? What is spoken of as satyam and ritam? What is tyaga? What dhana should one strive for? What is yajna? What is dakshina? What is a man’s real bala? What is the best bhaga? O Keshava! What is labha? What is vidya? What is the supreme form of hri? What is shri? What are sukha and duhkha? Who is pandita and who is murkha? What is pantha? What is utpatha? What are svarga and naraka? Who is a bandhu and what is a griha? Who is adhya and who is daridra? Who is kripana? Who is ishvara? O lord of the virtuous! Tell me the answers to these questions. Also tell me about the opposites of these attributes.”
‘The illustrious one replied, “Yama 1164 consists of non-violence, truthfulness, refraining from theft, lack of attachment, modesty, refraining from accumulation, belief in the sacred texts, brahmacharya, silence, steadfastness, forgiveness and fearlessness. Niyama 1165 consists of external purity, internal purity, meditating, austerities, oblations, faith, hospitality, my worship, visiting tirthas, ensuring benefit to others, contentment and service to the preceptor. These are yama and niyama and each is said to have twelve practices. O son! A man who practises them can milk all the objects of desire. Shama 1166 is being devoted to me. Dama 1167 is the control of the senses. Titiksha 1168 is tolerance of miseries. Dhriti 1169 is the conquest of the stomach and the genital organs. The supreme form of dana 1170 is abstention from using the rod against others. Tapas 1171 is said to be the giving up of desire. Shourya 1172 is victory over one’s own nature. Satyam 1173 is impartiality in vision. The wise have declared that pleasant speech is ritam. 1174 Not being attached to karma is shoucha. 1175 Tyaga 1176 is said to be renunciation. Engaging in dharma is the desirable form of dhana. 1177 I, the supreme and illustrious one, am yajna. 1178 Dakshina is instruction about jnana. Pranayama is supreme bala. 1179 Bhaga 1180 is my divine opulence. Labha 1181 is supreme devotion towards me. Vidya 1182 is negation of differentiation in the atman. Hri 1183 is disgust towards perverse karma. Shri 1184 is indifference towards the gunas. Sukha 1185 is transcending both sukha and duhkha. Duhkha 1186 is expected sukha from objects of desire. A pandita 1187 is someone who knows about liberation from bondage. A murkha 1188 is a person whose intelligence is such that he identifies himself with his body. Pantha 1189 is said to be the path that leads to me. Utpatha 1190 is that which leads to agitation of the intelligence. Svarga 1191 is the predominance of sattva guna. Naraka 1192 is the predominance of tamas guna. O friend! I am the preceptor and the bandhu. 1193 A man’s body is his griha. 1194 One who is full of qualities is said to be adhya. 1195 A daridra 1196 is a person who is not satisfied. Kripana 1197 is a person who has not conquered his senses. An ishvara 1198 is a person whose intelligence is such that he is not
attached to the gunas. If there is attachment to the gunas, the opposite happens. O Uddhava! I have thus clearly determined the answers to your questions. What is the need to speak more about the attributes of what is good and what is bad? Thinking about good and bad is itself bad. Being devoid of notions of both good and bad is good.”’