by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 1558(230)
‘“Vyasa said, ‘This is the conduct for brahmanas, as laid down earlier. If a learned person performs these tasks, he is successful in everything. He has no doubt in determining what acts should be undertaken. What are tasks that are mandatory and what are tasks that lead to knowledge?329 For tasks that lead to knowledge in men, this is what I have deduced and experienced. I will describe this. Listen. Some say that tasks are undertaken by men because of enterprise. There are other people who praise natural destiny. There are also some who draw a distinction between the three—human enterprise, destiny and the natural fruits of conduct. Some pick on a single reason, others on their combination. In this way, people established in acts say that there is existence, or that there is non-existence, or that existence cannot be established, or that non-existence cannot be established, thus treating them differently. But there are those who know the truth and regard all these as equal.330 Treta, dvapara and kali yugas are full of doubts. The ascetics of krita yuga were tranquil and knew the truth. They did not look upon all the Rig, Sama and Yajur hymns differently.331 They examined desire and hatred and only worshipped austerities. They were engaged in the dharma of austerities. They were firm in their observance and always devoted to austerities. They obtained everything, all that they desired and wished for in their minds. Through austerities, one becomes like the one who created the universe. One becomes like the lord who is the creator of all beings. He332 has been spoken about in the words of the Vedas. He is difficult to fathom, even by those who have the sight of the Vedas. He has again been spoken about in Vedanta. He can be discerned through the yoga of tasks. It has been said that slaughter represents sacrifice for kshatriyas and oblations for vaishyas.333 Servitude represents sacrifice for shudras and meditation represents sacrifice for brahmanas. One becomes a brahmana by diligently performing the tasks and studying. However, whether one performs the tasks or does not perform the tasks, by exhibiting friendliness,334 one is said to be a brahmana. At the beginning of treta, all the Vedas, sacrifices and varnashrama existed. But as lifespans decreased, they went into a decline in dvapara yuga. The Vedas suffered during dvapara. It was like that in kali yuga too. At the end of kali, though they could be seen, yet they could not be seen.335 One’s own dharma went into a decline and dharma suffered. The juices disappeared from cows, the earth, water and herbs. Because of adharma, the Vedas vanished, and so did the dharma of the Vedas and the ashramas. All mobile and immobile objects deviated from their own dharma. Just as all the beings are sustained by the rain showering down on the ground, from one yuga to another, the Vedas and their angas336 are created afresh. Time does this and it has no beginning and no end. I have recounted this to you earlier, about creation and destruction. Dhata is the creator of all beings and Yama controls them. Nature drives them into many kinds of opposite sentiments. O son!337 Creation, time, the upholding of the Vedas, the doer, tasks, rites and fruits—I have told you about these. This is what you had asked me.’”’
Chapter 1559(231)
‘Bhishma said, “Having been thus addressed, he338 praised the supreme rishi and asked him about the pursuit of moksha dharma.
‘“Shuka asked, ‘There may be a learned brahmana who has had offspring. He has performed sacrifices and has become old. He is wise and devoid of jealousy. How can he obtain the brahman, which is so difficult for the mind to grasp? Is it through austerities, brahmacharya, renouncing everything, intelligence, sankhya or yoga? I am asking you this. Instruct me. How can a man bring about unwavering attention in the mind and in the senses? You should explain this to me.’
‘“Vyasa replied, ‘There is nothing other than learning and austerities. There is nothing other than the control of the senses. There is nothing other than renouncing everything. Success cannot be obtained through any other means. Svayambhu created all the great elements first. These were then placed in the bodies of the living beings. It is said that the bodies come from the earth, the essence from water and the eyes from light. Prana and apana have the wind as their refuge and the vacant spots in the bodies have space as their refuge. Vishnu is in their steps, Shakra is in their strength and Agni is in their bowels, desiring to eat. The directions are in the ears, with hearing. Sarasvati is in the tongue, with speech. The ears, the skin, the eyes and the nose as the fifth, are said to be the senses of sight and it is through using these that knowledge becomes successful. Sound, touch, form, taste and scent as the fifth are separate from the senses. They should be thought of as objects of sight. Like horses are controlled, the senses must be yoked by the mind. The atman in the heart must control the mind. The mind is the lord of all the senses and their objects. The atman and the mind ensure their creation and destruction. The senses, the objects of the senses, nature, consciousness, mind, prana, apana and the soul always reside in the bodies of embodied beings. But attributes, sound339 and consciousness are not the base for knowledge. Knowledge is generated through energy, never through the qualities. In this way, in the body, the seventeenth is surrounded by the sixteen qualities.340 Using his mind, a learned brahmana sees the atman inside himself. It cannot be seen through the eye or comprehended through all the senses. The great atman manifests itself through the lamp of the mind. It is without sound, touch, form, taste and scent. It is without decay. It is in the body, but is without a body. It is beyond the senses, but can be seen. It is not manifest, but exists in the manifest body. It is immortal, but resorts to a mortal body. A person who beholds it obtains the brahman after death. A learned person looks upon a learned brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste341 equally. The great atman pervades everything and dwells in all beings, mobile and immobile. The atman is in all beings and all beings are in the atman. A person who sees the atman in all beings obtains the brahman. The extent to which one knows the atman in one’s own self is the extent to which one knows the atman in the paramatman.342 A person who always knows this, obtains immortality. He regards all beings as his own self and is engaged in the welfare of all beings. He leaves no trail, like a bird in the sky or an aquatic creature in the water, and the gods themselves are confused in trying to follow his tracks. A person whose tracks cannot be seen is indeed extremely great-souled. Time cooks all beings, inside its own self. But that which cooks time343 can never be known. It does not exist above, or diagonally, below, to the side, or in the middle. It does not exist anywhere. Nor has it come from anywhere. Everything in this world is inside it. There is nothing that is outside it. Even if one shoots one thousand arrows one after another, each endued with the speed of thought, even then one will not be able to obtain the extremities of that which is the cause of everything. It is subtler than the most subtle. It is larger than the largest. Its hands and feet extend in every direction. The eyes, heads and faces are everywhere. The ears are everywhere in the world. It is established, pervading everything. It is smaller than the smallest. It is larger than the largest. It is certainly seen to be established inside all beings. The atman has two attributes, indestructible and destructible. The destructible form is in all the beings. The indestructible form is divine and immortal. Having gone to the city with the nine gates,344 Hamsa345 restrains and controls it. It is the lord of all beings, mobile and immobile. Those who are accomplished speak of the truth—it resorts to the nine, subject to destruction and decay. But Hamsa is said to be without decay. It is mysterious and is Akshara.346 The learned obtain Akshara and give up life and birth.’”’347
Chapter 1560(232)
‘“Vyasa said, ‘O virtuous son! I was asked by you and have recounted the exact truth. I have recounted to you the philosophy of sankhya. I will now tell you everything about the tasks of yoga. Listen. The intelligence, the mind and all the senses must be united. O son! If one meditates on the atman, one will obtain supreme knowledge. One will obtain this through tranquility. One must be self-controlled and devote oneself to adhyatma. One must turn one’s intelligence to finding pleasure in the atman. One must be pure in one’s de
eds. One will then know what should be known. The learned and the wise say that five taints associated with yoga must be severed. These are desire, anger, avarice, fear and sleep as the fifth. Anger is conquered through tranquility, desire by giving up all resolution. A patient person resorts to the truth and should give up all sleep. Through fortitude, the penis and the stomach must be controlled. The hands and the feet must be protected through the eyes. The eyes and the ears must be controlled through the mind, the mind through words and deeds. Fear can be conquered through attentiveness and greed by serving the wise. In this way, one must attentively conquer the taints associated with yoga. One must honour the fire and brahmanas and bow down before the gods. One must abandon hateful words, those that are full of violence and not pleasant to the mind. The brahman is the energetic seed and is the essence of everything. It is the single one in both kinds of beings, mobile and immobile. Meditation, studying, donations, truth, modesty, uprightness, forgiveness, purity in food, cleanliness and control of the senses—energy can be increased through these and sins cleansed. One is then successful in all one’s pursuits, and knowledge arrives. One must behave equally towards all beings and towards what has been obtained and what has not been obtained. One will be cleansed of all sins, energetic, restrained in diet and in control over the senses. Having subjugated desire and anger, one must desire to attain the objective of the brahman. One must be single-minded and controlled in restraining the mind and the senses. Just before night, or just after night, one must fix one’s mind on the atman.348 If a person cannot control a single one of the five senses, that is a weakness in the senses, and wisdom drains out, as if through a hole at the bottom. The mind must first be subdued, like a fisherman drawing in the fish. A person engaged in yoga must then control the ears, the eyes, the tongue and the nose. Having restrained them, they must be fixed in the mind. With all resolution having ebbed away from the mind, it must then be fixed on the atman. The five349 must be controlled and placed in the mind. After this, the mind, as the sixth, must be placed in the atman. When this has been done, the brahman is pleased and manifests itself. It blazes, like flames without smoke, or like the resplendent sun. Like fire in lightning in the sky, one then beholds the atman inside one’s own self. Everything is then seen in it and it is seen in everything. Learned brahmanas see the great atman. They are immensely wise and persevering and are engaged in the welfare of all beings. If a person is rigid in his vows and observes them for a limited period of time,350 seated alone, he obtains identity with Akshara. Infatuation, hallucination, the whirling around of scent, hearing and sight, wonders of taste and touch, pleasant, cool and warm breezes, powers and other phenomena—all these are obtained through yoga.351 Knowing the truth about these, he must ignore them and return them to his atman. A restrained sage must ignore them. At three times,352 he must engage himself in yoga—on the summit of a mountain, at a place of worship, or at the foot of a tree. He must control all his senses, like cattle in a cow pen in a village. He must always be single-minded in his thoughts and turn his mind to nothing other than yoga. In every way possible, one must restrain the fickle mind. He must be engaged in this and must never deviate. Single-minded in attaining the objective, he must reside in deserted mountain caverns, temples to the gods or deserted houses. He should have no association with others, in words, deeds and thoughts. He must ignore everything and be restrained in his diet. He should look at what has been obtained and what has not been obtained as equal. He should not be delighted. Nor should he be distressed. Whether he is praised or whether he is reprimanded, he must look on both equally, and not desire good things for the former and bad things for the latter. He should not be delighted at obtaining something. He should not think about something that has not been obtained. He must behave equally towards all beings and must follow the dharma of the wind.353 Such a virtuous person seeks everything in the atman and looks upon everything equally. If he is engaged in this way for six months, he obtains the Shabda-Brahma.354 On seeing that subjects are afflicted by grief,355 he must look upon a lump of earth and gold in the same way. He must withdraw from this path.356 He must desist from it and be free of confusion. Even if one belongs to one of the inferior varnas and even if one happens to be a woman, as long as one desires dharma, one can resort to this path and obtain the supreme objective.357 A man who controls his senses and is not fickle obtains the ancient and eternal one who is without birth and without decay. It is subtler than the most subtle. It is greater than the greatest. United with his own atman, he sees it inside himself. These are the words of the great-souled maharshis. They spoke about this and beheld it with their minds. In one’s mind, one should follow the words that have been spoken and instructed. A learned person will then see the great being inside his own self, until the time comes for a living being to be destroyed.’”’
Chapter 1561(233)
‘“Shuka asked, ‘The words of the Vedas talk about undertaking tasks and also about renouncing them. Where do those who pursue knowledge go?358 Where do those who act go? I wish to hear about this. Please tell me about this. These two kinds of instructions seem to be similar and also contradictory.’”
‘Bhishma said, “Thus addressed, Parashara’s son spoke these words to his son.359 ‘I will tell you about the paths of tasks and knowledge and also about the destructible and the indestructible, about where those who pursue knowledge go, and about the destination of those who undertake rites. O son! Listen single-mindedly to the mysteries of one and the other. Listen to dharma, as stated by the believers, and also to what the non-believers say.360 Both sides may seem to be similar, but there are differences between them. There are two paths on which the Vedas are established. There is dharma with characteristics of pravritti, and nivritti is also well spoken of.361 A being is bound down through deeds and is freed through knowledge. Therefore, those who are far-sighted do not undertake any tasks. After death, one is born again through deeds and adopts a form with the sixteen attributes. Through knowledge, one becomes part of the eternal and umanifest one, the one without decay and transformation. Therefore, men who are limited in intelligence praise deeds alone. They find pleasure and worship this net of bodily entities. However, there are also those who are supreme in intelligence, accomplished in the sight of dharma. They do not praise deeds, just as a person who drinks water does not praise wells and rivers. Deeds lead to fruits, happiness and unhappiness, existence and non-existence. However, a person who obtains knowledge reaches the spot where there is no reason to grieve. Once one goes there, one does not die. Once one goes there, one is not born. Once once goes there, one does not decay. Once one goes there, one does not increase. That is the supreme brahman, eternal, unmanifest and without decay. It is without any obstructions. It is without any exertion. It is immortal. It is without destruction. Opposite sentiments do not bind down a person there, in thoughts or in deeds. He is equal and friendly towards everyone, engaged in the welfare of all beings. O son! There is a difference between a man who is full of knowledge and one who is full of deeds. Know that he362 can be seen to be as subtle as the moon established in its kala.363 The rishi364 has spoken in detail about what has been inferred. A newborn moon can be seen in the firmament, like a bent sliver. O son! Know that a person is embodied with the qualities of his deeds and, with those eleven transformations in him, is endowed with the increase in kalas.365 The kshetrajna is the divinity who finds refuge in the bodily form, like a drop of water on the petal of a lotus. A person who conquers his atman through renunciation always knows this. Know that all beings are united with the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas. The jivatman has these qualities. But know the jivatman to be the paramatman. Consciousness is said to be the quality of living beings. It makes them endeavour in everything. Those who know speak about the supreme beyond the body. The seven worlds flow from that.’”’366
Chapter 1562(234)
‘“Shuka said, ‘I have understood that there is a creation that is destructible, one united with qualitie
s and the senses. But there is another kind of auspicious and eternal creation that can be comprehended by meditating on the atman. However, I again wish to hear about the reasons for virtuous conduct in this world. That is what righteous ones have ordained. I desire to hear those described. The words of the Vedas say that tasks should be undertaken and also that they should be renounced. How will I know which is better? You should explain this to me. Once I have been purified through instructions from my preceptor, I will know the truth about conduct in the world. Using the intelligence to separate and delink my atman from my body, I will then obtain that which is without decay.’
‘“Vyasa replied, ‘In ancient times, Brahma himself laid down rules for conduct. The supreme and virtuous rishis followed this earlier. The supreme rishis conquered the worlds through brahmacharya. In their hearts, they placed their atmans in what was most beneficial. They placed their minds in their atmans. They dwelt in the forest and survived on roots and fruits. They tormented themselves through extremely great austerities. They dwelt in auspicious spots. They showed no injury towards living beings. At the right time, they went to seek alms from the abodes of those who were in the vanaprastha stage, when there was no smoke and when the pestles were silent.367 They obtained the brahman. They did not praise. They did not bow down. They gave up both the good and the bad. They roamed around alone in the forest, surviving on whatever little was available.’