by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 1621(293)
‘“Vasishtha said, ‘Thus, because of his ignorance and because of association with those who are ignorant, he faces downfall and goes through millions of births. He goes through thousands of abodes, but each of those ends in death. He is born as inferior species, as human, or in the world of the gods. Like the encasement of the moon, he waxes and wanes thousands of times. It is known that the moon always has kalas.816 Fifteen of these increase and decrease, but the sixteenth is always there. That is the way with the atman too, with abodes increasing and decreasing. But like the moon, the sixteenth is always subtle and sustained.817 It is not united with anything. Nor is it used up in the course of anything that happens. O supreme among kings! These818 are the ones which are destroyed and take birth again. These are seen as Prakriti and their destruction is said to be emancipation. The sixteenth kala in the body is not manifest. But because of the sense of ownership, it circles around. One is ignorant about the twenty-fifth819 that is there in the atman. It is sparkling and pure and is fanned by an auspicious breeze. O king! Though the atman is pure, because of the taint, it is rendered impure. Though one knows, one serves ignorance and roams around, like an ignorant person. O supreme among kings! That is the one who should be known. However, because of serving the three qualities of Prakriti, one is rendered ordinary.’
‘“Karalajanaka said, ‘O illustrious one! It is said that the relationship between that which is not destroyed and that which is destroyed is like the relationship between a woman and a man. Without a man, a woman can never conceive. Without a woman, a man can also not create a form.820 They have a relationship with each other and depend on the qualities of each other. That is the way forms are created among all kinds of beings. For the sake of desire, they have intercourse with each other at the right season and resort to each other’s qualities. That is the way forms result. Let me tell you about these signs. There are qualities for a man and there are qualities for a mother. O brahmana! We know that bones, sinews and marrow come from the father. We have heard that skin, flesh and blood comes from the mother. O best among brahmanas! This is what has been laid down in the sacred texts of the Vedas. Since it has been laid down in the Vedas and in the sacred texts, it can be taken as proof. The proofs of the Vedas and the sacred texts represent eternal proof. This is the eternal relationship between Prakriti and Purusha. O illustrious one! But I cannot see any signs about the dharma of emancipation. I can see no signs of this inside me. Therefore, if there is anything evident about the truth, please tell me about it. I desire emancipation. I desire that which grants freedom from fear. It821 is without a body. It is without decay. It is divine and is beyond the senses. It is the ultimate lord.’
‘“Vasishtha replied, ‘What you have said about the proofs of the Vedas and the sacred texts is indeed true and you have accepted them. O lord of men! O one who knows about the truth! But though you have accepted both those types of books, the Vedas and the sacred texts, you have not grasped the truth that is there in those two sets of books. If a person is eager to accept books like the Vedas and the sacred texts, but does not know the truth about the purport of those books, his acceptance is fruitless. A person who does not understand the purport of those books only bears a burden. If a person does not understand the truth about the purport of a book, his study of that book is fruitless. If a person is asked about the purport of a book, he should explain what he has grasped by studying the truth carefully. If a person is gross in his intelligence and cannot explain the meaning of a book in an assembly, it is evident that his knowledge is limited and he cannot speak about its meaning. A person whose soul is imperfect cannot speak about the truth. He is laughed at. This is also true of those who know about the atman. O Indra among kings! Therefore, listen to what has been instructed by the great-souled ones who know about sankhya and yoga. What is seen by those who practise yoga is exactly that which is followed by those who practise sankhya. A person who sees that sankhya and yoga are identical is intelligent. O son! Skin, flesh, fat, bile, marrow and sinews—these belong to the senses and you have spoken to me about them. Objects result from objects and senses from the senses. Like seeds from seeds, bodies originate from bodies. The atman is beyond senses, without seed and without objects. How can that great-souled one, who possesses no qualities, give rise to qualities? Qualities result from qualities and are destroyed. They are born from Prakriti and do not exist otherwise. Skin, flesh, blood, fat, bile, marrow, bones and sinews—know that these eight are created from the seed and Prakriti. Male and non-male—these three822 genders are said to result from Prakriti. Those that are not male are said to be non-male genders. Prakriti has no gender. But her offspring obtain gender and form. For example, flowers and fruit have form, though they result from what is formless. It is inferred that gender is obtained in this way. O son! It is the twenty-fifth one who determines the gender of the atman. He is without beginning and without end. He is infinite. He sees everything. He is without disease. It is because of ego that qualities are said to result from qualities. Qualities can result in qualities. How can qualities result from one who possesses no qualities? People who have insight about qualities know this. That is the reason all those qualities are seen to originate with Prakriti. A person who goes beyond the qualities, sees the supreme. All those who are intelligent in the schools of sankhya and yoga speak about the supreme. Those immensely wise ones are intelligent and have abandoned ignorance. Those who are ignorant speak of a manifest Ishvara who possesses qualities. Ishvara is always established as someone who is devoid of qualities. Those who are accomplished in sankhya and yoga understand about the supreme. They know about a twenty-fifth who is beyond Prakriti’s qualities. Those who know about the unmanifest can overcome the fear of birth. Those who know go there, just as the intelligent ones do.823 O scorcher of enemies! These are the indications that have been properly instructed, though the paths of those who are intelligent and those who know are separate. They respectively speak about the signs of what is destroyed and what is not destroyed. There is a single one who is not destroyed and everything else is said to be subject to destruction. When a person has studied the twenty-five attributes properly, he realizes that all philosophy leads to the single one and many kinds of philosophy are irrelevant. There is a truth that is over and above individual indications. In the twenty-five categories that are created, the learned speak of this as the truth. The supreme truth is said to be what is beyond the twenty-five. There are categories and there is conduct according to the categories. While this is true, the eternal truth is above this.’”’
Chapter 1622(294)
‘“Karalajanaka asked, ‘O supreme among rishis! You have spoken about the characteristics of the many and the one.824 But I still detect some doubt about the signs of the two. O unblemished one! This is comprehended by both those who are knowledgable and those who are ignorant.825 However, because my intelligence is gross, I still have some doubt about the truth of this. You have spoken about the causes behind that which is destructible and that which is not destructible. O unblemished one! However, because my intelligence is fickle, I have forgotten about all of that. That is the reason I wish to know how one can be seen in many. How does a knowledgable or ignorant person comprehend the truth about this? O illustrious one! Tell me, completely and separately, what sankhya and yoga say on knowledge and ignorance and on the indestructible and the destructible?’
‘“Vasishtha replied, ‘I will tell you what you have asked me about. O great king! Hear separately from me about the practice of yoga. For yogis who practice yoga, meditation is the supreme strength. Those who know about the Vedas say that there are two kinds of meditation—concentration of the mind and pranayama. Pranayama possesses qualities, while concentration of the mind is without qualities.826 O lord of men! With the exception of three times—passing urine, releasing excrement and eating—at all other times, the mind should be devoted to the supreme. A sage uses his mind to withdraw from the senses and th
e objects of the senses and should engage in the twenty-two and the supreme twenty-four.827 The intelligent person uses these to direct the atman. Learned ones have said that this is the undecaying entity that resides in the body. It has been instructed that the atman must always be known. It has been determined that this is for someone whose mind has been delinked from objects and not for others. He must be free from all attachments. He must be restrained in diet and conquer the senses. During the early and later part of the night, the mind must be fixed on the atman. O lord of Mithila! All the senses must be stilled by the mind. The mind must be stilled with intelligence. Having done this, one should be as motionless as stone. He must be as motionless as a pillar. Like a mountain, he must not move. When learned ones, who know about the techniques, are like this, they are said to be united in yoga. He does not hear. He does not inhale. He does not taste. He does not see. He does not know any touch and there is no resolution in his mind. He does not pay attention to anything, or understand anything. He is like a piece of wood. The learned say that such a person is then united with Prakriti. One is seen to blaze like a lamp in a place where there is no wind. He does not move and is immobile. Such a person ascends upwards and doesn’t descend into inferior species. Then he sees what is to be seen. Having seen, he does not speak. People like us say that the heart of the knower and what is to be known, the atman, have become one. He is like a smokeless fire with the seven flames.828 He is like the sun with its rays. He is like the fiery lightning in the sky. He sees the atman in his own self. Great-souled and intelligent and learned brahmanas see it in this way. This is the brahman, who has not been born. This is immortality that exists in the atman. It is said that this is more subtle than what is most subtle and greater than what is greatest. Though it is inside all beings, it is certain that it cannot be seen. The creator of the world can be seen through the wealth of intelligence and the lamp of the mind. It is the greatness that is beyond darkness. It is located beyond darkness. Those who know about the truth of the Vedas say that it is the dispeller of darkness. It is sparkling. It is beyond darkness. It is without attributes. It has the characteristic of being without traits. Yogis say that this is yoga. I think that these are the signs of yoga. This is the way they see the supreme and undecaying one in their own atmans. I have thus told you the truth about the philosophy of yoga.
‘“‘I will now tell you about the knowledge of sankhya, where one progressively destroys the errors. Those who know about Prakriti say that the unmanifest Prakriti is the supreme. O supreme among kings! From this, the second entity, known as Mahat, is generated. We have heard that the third entity, consciousness, results from Mahat. Those who have the insight of sankhya say that the five elements are created from consciousness. These eight are Prakriti.829 There are sixteen transformations of these. In particular, there are the five senses and the five organs of action.830 Learned ones who know about sankhya say that this is the truth. They know about the ordinances of sankhya and are always established along the path of sankhya. Whatever is generated from the cause, is also destroyed within it. As they have been created from inside that atman, they are destroyed in reverse order. They are created in the proper order, but are destroyed in the reverse order.831 O supreme among kings! The qualities are always like waves in an ocean. This is the way the creation and destruction of Prakriti also take place. When there is destruction, the single one832 alone remains and many are subsequently created from it. O Indra among kings! This is what has been determined by those who have reflected on it. It is evident that the presider833 is not manifest. It is both one and many and so is the case with Prakriti. There is a single one at the time of destruction and many at the time of creation. Prakriti generates from its womb and the atman makes it many.834 The great-souled one is established over the twenty-five that constitute the field.835 O Indra among kings! That is the reason the best among ascetics say that it836 is the presider. We have heard that it is the presider and it presides over the field.837 Because it knows the kshetra, the umanifest one is known as kshetrajna. Since the unmanifest one lay down in earlier times, it is known as Purusha.838 Those that are known as kshetra and kshetrajna are distinct. While kshetra is also not manifest, it becomes discernible because of the twenty-fifth. Knowledge and the object of knowledge are said to be distinct. Knowledge is not manifest, but becomes known because of the twenty-fifth. The kshetra is not manifest and neither are intelligence and Ishvara. The lack of Ishvara isn’t truth. Truth is known because of the twenty-fifth. These are the principles of sankhya philosophy. Those who believe in the philosophy of sankhya say that, in accordance with sankhya, it is Prakriti that acts. They enumerate and ascertain the truth about the twenty-four elements. Those who believe in sankhya talk about Prakriti and the twenty-fifth, which is devoid of qualities. It is said that if a person has got to know the twenty-fifth, he is the one who knows. A person who knows this realizes that it is the atman alone that exists. I have properly spoken to you about the true nature of sankhya philosophy. A person who knows this obtains tranquility. Prakriti is manifest to such a person, as something that is directly seen. It is the one with qualities and there is also the entity without qualities. When they no longer exist,839 they do not have to return again. They obtain sentiments that are without decay and also obtain the supreme and unmanifest one. But there are also those who do not see properly and do not see everything as one. O destroyer of enemies! They do not reach the unmanifest and have to return again and again. They have not understood everything and have not comprehended. They are born in manifest forms and are under the subjugation of the manifest. Everything that is manifest results from the unmanifest and the twenty-fifth. A person who knows this does not suffer from any fear.’”’