Tripura Rahasya

by Sri Ramanananda

  His enjoyments gave him pleasure just at the moment, and left their impressions on him, which he took with him in order to manifest them in dream and enjoy them secretly with his wife, unknown to the gross senses.

  Desire possessed the mind and fed him to his entire satisfaction. His desire grew more and more until neither he nor all his associates could satisfy Desire. Constant association of Mind with Desire gave rise to Passion and Greed (the two sons of the second wife). Desire was exceedingly fond of her two sons. Mind was however tortured by these two sons.

  Mind’s misery was reflected in the Intellect. I (the individual Consciousness) was completely hidden behind the dark and active forces dragging the Intellect along and appeared moribund. Suffering thus for untold ages, the mind lost all initiative and was in the clutches of Desire. Then he gained at the time of creation, a city of ten gates—namely the body with ten outlets (two eyes, two ears, two nasal passages, mouth, and urinary and faecal passages and brahmarandhra, an opening in the skull). The same old story of misery was repeated in the new incarnation and was often worse. Intellect having in the meantime lost the satvic quality of brightness, did not shine well, and was torpid.

  Mind continued to flourish in the company of Ignorance, Delusion and Desire, etc. Intellect could not eschew Mind on the one hand nor function in my absence. We all lived there together. Had I not been there, no one else could have lived in the city. I was protecting them all. On account of my intimacy with Intellect, I became nescient at times, foolish at others, unsteady, vacillating, angry, contemptible, etc. Therefore ignorant people put me down in the same category as Intellect. But the sages know that I have never been tainted. My genesis proves it. My mother is most virtuous, pure, not the least blemished, more extensive than space and subtler than even the subtlest, because she is immanent in all and sundry. Being omniscient, she is of limited knowledge also; that is to say, she is transcendental and individualised self; being omnipotent, she is fragile too; being the prop of all, she has no prop; being of all shapes, she has no shape (like a mirror reflecting forms); being all inclusive, she owns nothing; being the conscious Principle here and now, she is uncognisable; she has no lineage extending beyond Herself. Her daughters like me are too numerous to reckon.

  My sisters are infinite in number, like waves on the sea. All of them are involved like myself in their companion’s affairs. Though so enmeshed in Intellect, I am still equal to my mother in every respect because I possess the unique talisman to save me from being tainted.

  To return to my life in the city, whenever Mind was fatigued, he used to sleep on his mother Intellect’s lap. When he slept, none of his sons or others could be awake. The city was then guarded by his intimate friend, Breath. Then Intellect with all her family used to be clouded by Ignorance—her mother-in-law and then I (individual Consciousness) being free from all trammels used to repair to my mother (i.e., Fulness) and remain in bliss. But I was obliged to come away as soon as the inhabitants of the city awoke.

  Mind’s friend—Breath—pervaded the whole city and protected all the citizens in every way. They would be scattered away if he were not there. He was the link between them and me. He derived his strength and powers from me. When that city fell to ruin, he would collect them all and pass with them to another city. Mind thus reigned in several places, with the aid of his friend (this refers to reincarnation).

  Though befriended by Breath, though born of virtuous Intellect and though brought up by me, Mind was always wallowing in misery because he was wedded to his two incorrigible and insatiate wives, associated with the two wicked sons—Greed and Anger—and was swinging to and fro on account of the other five sons—the Senses. He could find no rest and was manipulated by them, so that he found himself in forests, in wilderness, in torrid heat or frigid cold, in cess-pools, in dark caverns, etc.—in short, in different kinds of hell.

  His miseries reflected on Intellect; and I too being associated with her, was involved in their woes. Who can indeed avoid the evils of bad company?

  On one occasion, Intellect sought my advice in secret (i.e., when accidentally free from thoughts). I advised dispassionate conduct to her, by which she gained a good husband—Discrimination. She grew stronger, gathered courage to subdue to the Mind and kill Greed, Lust and Anger. The other five sons of his—namely, the Senses—were imprisoned. Soon after, she became loyal to me and finally united with me (i.e., gained nirvikalpa samâdhi). Thus she reached my mother’s place—Peace and Bliss.

  This story illustrates that bondage and liberation are for Intellect only and not for the individual Consciousness, i.e., the Self.

  Appendix II

  Siddha Gita from Yoga Vasishtha

  Humble salutations to the Great Masters of all Ages!

  Sri: Salutations to that Reality which inheres as the Self in all, from which all the creations are projected, in which they have their being and into which they are finally dissolved! Salutations to that Intelligence which inheres as the Self in all, from which the knower, knowledge and the known, the seer, sight and the seen, the doer, cause and deed, are manifested! Salutations to that Supreme Bliss which inheres as the Self in all, which constitutes the life of all and from whose unfathomable depths happiness is sprayed as fine particles in Heaven or on Earth (where on the sum-total of happiness is not equal to a particle of that unalloyed, natural Bliss). The Siddhas (invisible and immortal beings of the noblest order) proclaimed.

  1. We adore that One which remains unfalteringly fixed, steady and eternal, which will not therefore admit of recurring births and deaths nor undergo modifications as this and that, and which is by unerring contemplation realized as one’s own Self, from which certainly proceeds the chain of links of successive particles of happiness, seemingly derived from and wrongly associated with enjoyments, which are in their turn mere phenomena (viz., the ego and the world, or subject and object) reflected as images on the non-dual, unique and abstract consciousness, because they are found on rightly discriminating investigation to merge into the Absolute Self.

  Some other Siddhas bring it nearer home as follows:

  2. We adore That which is realized as the Self originating, and yet remaining as the untainted witness of the birth of the Ego, its thoughts and the world around—by transcending the cogniser, cognition and the cognised objects pertaining to the wakeful and dream states as well as the ignorance pertaining to dreamless slumber and made up of the latent tendencies of the mind.

  Some other Siddhas:

  3. We adore That which is realized as the Light inhering as the Self and illumining all, abiding always as the Consciousness in the believer and the non-believer alike—before creation and after dissolution of the Cosmos and is between them too—and lying hidden even in the successive links ceaselessly formulated as the original sources but rendered abortive by one conscious Self objectifying another in itself.

  Note: Sloka 2 says the Reality is realized after eliminating all the triads. Some deny the same. There must be some conscious self to deny it. Again, if the original cause of creation be imagined to be as transient as the present creation, the enduring reality beyond the successive links cannot be denied. Or again, if a material cause be surmised, the efficient cause cannot be overlooked. The latter is imagined by the Self. The Self must be the ultimate reality.

  4. We adore the Self as That in which all the worlds are fixed, of which they are, from which they emerge, for which they exist, by which all these are projected and for which they are in their being.

  5. We adore the Self which shines formless as unbroken ‘I-I’ consciousness which transcends the ego, yet comprising all the Egos and entire knowledge. These after all make up the whole Cosmos.

  6. Those who, ignoring the Lord of the Heart, go about seeking other gods, are like the fool who throws away from his hand the celestial gem (kaustubha) which fulfils all the desires of the possessor, and who then excavates the Earth in search of jewels.

  Some Siddhas counsel Dispassion as f
ollows:

  7. The Lord of the Heart, who roots out the vigorously growing creeper bearing poisonous fruits of desires is gained after discarding everything as worthless.

  8. That fool who, being aware of the evils of enjoyments, still runs after them, must not be deemed a man but be put down for an ass. (The male ass runs after the female, even though kicked by her.)

  9. The serpents under the cover of the senses must forcibly be laid, as often as they raise their hoods and hiss for prey, like mountains mercilessly hit by the thunderbolt of Indra (the God of rain, thunder and lightning).

  The other Siddhas hit on the cardinal points as follows:

  10. Acquire the bliss of peace by reining in the senses and stilling the mind. The mind does not, in its womb, hold seeds of pain as sensual pleasures do, but purges itself of impurities because it merges in its source as fire does when not fed with fuel. On the mind becoming still and disappearing into the primal source of bliss, there arises the Supreme Peace which holds out till final emancipation.

  Appendix III

  to Chapter IV

  O people, turn away from sensual enjoyments and betake yourselves to contemplating your own selves (rather the Self), because sensual enjoyments end only in misery. What is meant by the Self? By Self is meant Consciousness as shown by the Mahâ Vâkya, ‘Prajnânam Brahmâ.’ The Prajnanam (Consciousness) must be worshipped. Here worship does not mean external or ritual worship. What is it then? To be unshakingly fixed in the intuition ‘I am Brahman’ in accordance with the Sutra, ‘the state intuited as I.’ Objection: It is in other words to annihilate the body and its associates. Answer: Rather it is, ‘Contemplate Consciousness to the exclusion of objects illumined by it.’ Q: How? It means all objects being illumined by Consciousness do not exist on their own merit. They are only fancied to be, like the horns of a hare. Question: If non-existent like the hare’s horns, how do they appear to view at all? Answer: Only Consciousness shines forth and no other. Q: If there is only Chit and nothing beside, how does it shine forth as body, etc.? A: It is like images in a mirror. The real significance of the Agamâs (the tantric texts) is this:

  Consciousness is truly the Self (Subjective Reality) because it cannot be referred to by the word ‘this.’ The non-self alone can thus be referred to. Only that can be Self (Subjective Reality) which itself being one, runs continuously through the realms of old recollections and ever-new thoughts. Being pure Consciousness by nature it cannot admit of differentiation and is the same whether in gods, asuras or men, etc. There cannot be the least doubt that time and space are not different from it since they remain immersed in it (that is, they cannot be conceived in the absence of Consciousness) and out of it they are non-existent like a hare’s horn (that is, not existent).

  Parama Siva spoken of in the Sastras is just this unbroken, uniform Consciousness, the Self. His own power known as Mâyâ which can make the impossible possible, hiding her real identity and manifesting her impurity as avidyâ (ignorance), produces duality. Of this duality the perceptible (drisyam) has not its origin in Siva, like a sprout in its seed; nor is it a modification (pari- nâma) because the material forming it is not continuous in its source, like clay in utensils of clay; nor is it a superimposition (vivarta) like a snake on a piece of rope because the duality of the perceiver and the perceived (is not acceptable). What then? Just as a mirror remaining unaffected presents within itself pictures owing to its clarity, so also Chit presents by its own power the objects illumined by itself within itself. Nor should the doubt arise that just as a mirror requires corresponding external objects for reflection in itself, there must be an external world to correspond to the reflection in Chit. For, the external object does not form the material for its reflection but only effects it, like the wheel and the stick being the effective causes for producing a pot. The accessories are variable because the wheel is rotated by hand. Similarly it is not improper to consider Mâyâ, Chit’ s own power, to be the effective cause for producing the perceptible (jagat) in Chit. No other explanation but that of reflection fits in for appearance of the perceptible in Chit. There cannot be an object external to Consciousness for it cannot be illumined (in order to be reflected). Nor does the world appear owing to its relation to Chit because this will lead to regressus ad infinitum.

  Also even in the absence of Chit the world must always be evident or not evident. All well-known objections have thus been refuted. For details consult Pratyabhijna, etc. Therefore this doctrine of reflection alone is valid.

  to Chapter VII

  Illusion can be overcome only by a sincere, earnest and constant devotion to God. But the atheists deny God and His creation of the universe. Atheist: How does it follow that Iswara is the creator of jagat? Answer: Because the jagat is seen to be a kârya. This is an artifact. Q: True, a pot, etc., are seen to be the products of work but not the mountains, oceans, etc. A: Because they consist of parts they must also have been made (created) by an unseen power. (Yat Saavayavam tat karyam iti tarkena.) This is according to the axiom: What is with parts must be kârya. Therefore the world, etc., are creations only. Q: Paramânu (the fundamental subtle primary particle) and âkâsa (ether) have no parts. So the jagat exclusive of these two must be taken to be kârya. A: No to both. They—that is, Paramanu and âkâsa—are kârya because they are perceptible (knowable). Their being kârya cannot be denied for the simple fact of their being impartible. They are known by inference. Many scriptural texts attest our position. They are (1) One God created the sky and the earth. (2) From the Self âkâsa came forth, etc. Here âkâsa implies other elements also. Owing to its knowability, the jagat must be a kârya; being a kârya there must be its kartâ (creator), and he must be now ascertained to be the creator of the universe. Q: This applies to a pot and the potter because both are seen. Not so in the other case. A: He is totally different from all other agents. For, the scripture says: “There was then (that is, before creation) neither Sat nor asat (anything nor nothing). There is no material with which to create this jagat; yet He did it; therefore He differs from all others. The Creator has now been established. Q: Should the reasoning based on the agâmic texts that the jagat is a kârya be upheld as impregnable, this should hold good for the reasoning based on Barhaspatya Agarna also which declares that the loka has no creator but appears solely according to nature. A: It is only a semblance of an agama. Here are some extracts from it:

  Earth, air, fire and water are the four elements perceived (by the senses) and no fifth element is so perceived. The loka is composed of varying combinations of these four elements and is also changing every moment, so that each successive modification of this assemblage is similar to the previous one. The loka is only of the nature of these combinations and it rests in itself. Just as a solution of sugar acquires intoxicating power so also the mixture of ova and semen in the womb acquires intellectual power capable of action and cognition. Just as the intoxicating liquor is called wine, so also the intellect-united body is called a purusha (man). Pleasure is the goal of man and it forms heaven whereas pain is called hell; they are both natural. Mixtures of these two form the routine of life (samsâra). Just as the intoxication disappears after a time so also does the intellect; its total extinction is called moksha (liberation) by the wise. There is no heaven or hell to go to after death.