Chapter 210

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O sire, of that high yoga by which, OBharata, I may obtain Emancipation, O foremost of speakers, I desire toknow everything about that yoga truly.’

“Bhishma said, ‘In this connection is cited the old narrative of thediscourse between a preceptor and his disciple on the subject ofEmancipation. There was a regenerate preceptor who was the foremost ofRishis. He looked like a mass of splendour. Possessed of a high soul, hewas firm in truth and a complete master of his senses. Once on a time, adisciple of great intelligence and close attention, desirous of obtainingwhat was for his highest good, touched the preceptor’s feet, and standingwith joined hands before him, said, If, O illustrious one, thou hast beengratified with the worship I have offered thee, it behoveth thee to solvea great doubt of mine. Whence am I and whence art thou? Tell me thisfully. Tell me also what is the final cause. Why also, O best ofregenerate ones, when the material cause in all beings is the same, theirorigin and destruction happen in such dissimilar ways? It beseems thee, Othou of great learning, also to explain the object of the declarations inthe Vedas (about difference of rites in respect of different classes ofmen), the meaning of the injunctions of the Smritis and of thoseinjunctions which apply to all cases of men.'[715]

“The preceptor said, ‘Listen, O disciple, O thou of great wisdom! Thisthat thou hast asked me is undisclosed in the very Vedas and is thehighest subject for thought or discourse. It is called Adhyatma and isthe most valuable of all branches of learning and of all sacredinstitutes. Vasudeva is the Supreme (cause) of the universe. He is theorigin of the Vedas (viz., Om). He is Truth, Knowledge, Sacrifice,Renunciation, Self-restraint, and Righteousness. Persons conversant withthe Vedas know Him as All-pervading, Eternal, Omnipresent, the Creatorand the Destroyer, the Unmanifest, Brahma, Immutable. Hear now the storyof Him who took his birth in Vrishni’s race. A Brahmana should hear ofthe greatness of that God of gods, viz., Him called Vishnu ofimmeasurable energy, from the lips of Brahmanas. A person of the royalorder should hear it from persons of that order. One who is a Vaisyashould hear it from Vaisyas, and a high-souled Sudra should hear it fromSudras. Thou deservest to hear it. Listen now to the auspicious accountof Krishna, that narrative which is the foremost of all narratives.Vasudeva is the wheel of Time, without beginning and without end.Existence and Non-existence are the attributes by which His real natureis known. The universe revolves like a wheel depending upon that Lord ofall beings. O best of men, Kesava, that foremost of all beings, is saidto be that which is Indestructible, that which is Unmanifest, that whichis Immortal, Brahma, and Immutable. The highest of the high, and withoutchange or deterioration himself, he created the Pitris, the gods, theRishis, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Nagas, the Asuras, and humanbeings. It is He who also created the Vedas and the eternal duties andcustoms of men. Having reduced everything into non-existence, he oncemore, in the beginning of a (new) yuga, creates Prakriti (primordialmatter). As the diverse phenomena of the several seasons appear one afteranother according to the season that comes, after the like mannercreatures start forth into existence at the beginning of every(celestial) yuga. Corresponding with those creatures that start into lifeis the knowledge of rules and duties that have for their object theregulation of the world’s course.[716] At the end of every (celestial)yuga (when universal destruction sets in) the Vedas and all otherscriptures disappear (like the rest). In consequence of the grace of theSelf-born, the great Rishis, through their penances, first re-acquire thelost Vedas and the scriptures. The Self-born (Brahman) first acquired theVedas. Their branches called the Angas were first acquired by (thecelestial preceptor) Vrihaspati. Bhrigu’s son (Sukra) first acquired thescience of morality that is so beneficial for the universe. The scienceof music was acquired by Narada; that of arms by Bharadwaja; the historyof the celestial Rishis by Gargya: that of medicine by thedark-complexioned son of Atri. Diverse other Rishis, whose names areconnected therewith, promulgated diverse other sciences such as Nyaya,Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Patanjala, etc. Let that Brahma which those Rishishave indicated by arguments drawn from reason, by means of the Vedas, andby inferences drawn from the direct evidence of the senses, be adored.,Neither the gods nor the Rishis were (at first) able to apprehend Brahmawhich is without beginning and which is the highest of the high. Only thedivine creator of all things, viz., the puissant Narayana, had knowledgeof Brahma. From Narayana, the Rishis, the foremost ones among the deitiesand the Asuras, and the royal sages of old, derived the knowledge of thathighest remedy of the cure of sorrow. When primordial matter producesexistences through the action of the primal energy, the universe with allits potencies begins to flow from it. From one lighted lamp thousands ofother lamps are capable of being lighted. After the same manner,primordial matter produces thousands of existent things. In consequence,again, of its infinity primordial matter is never exhausted. From theUnmanifest flows the Understanding determined by acts. The Understandingproduces Consciousness. From Consciousness proceeds Space. From Spaceproceeds Wind. From the Wind proceeds Heat. From Heat proceeds Water, andfrom Water is produced the Earth. These eight constitute primordialPrakriti. The universe rests on them. From those Eight have originatedthe five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action, the five objectsof the (first five) organs, and the one, viz., the Mind, forming thesixteenth, which is the result of their modification. The ear, the skin,the two eyes, the tongue, and the nose are the five organs of knowledge.The two feet, the lower duct, the organ of generation, the two arms, andspeech, are the five organs of action. Sound, touch, form, taste, andsmell are the five objects of the senses, covering all the things. TheMind dwells upon all the senses and their objects. In the perception oftaste, it is the Mind that becomes the tongue, and in speech it is theMind that becomes words. Endued with the different senses, it is the Mindthat becomes all the objects that exist in its apprehension. Thesesixteen, existing in their respective forms, should be known as deities.These worship Him who creates all knowledge and dwells within the body.Taste is the attribute of water; scent is the attribute of earth; hearingis the attribute of space; vision is the attribute of fire or light; andtouch should be known as the attribute of the wind. This is the case withall creatures at all times. The Mind, it has been said, is the attributeof existence. Existence springs from the Unmanifest (of Prakriti) which,every intelligent person should know, rests in That which is the Soul ofall existent beings. These existences, resting upon the supreme Divinitythat is above Prakriti and that is without any inclination for action,uphold the entire universe of mobiles and immobiles. This sacred edificeof nine doors[717] is endued with all these existences. That which ishigh above them, viz., the Soul, dwells within it, pervading it all over.For this reason, it is called Purusha. The Soul is without decay and notsubject to death. It has knowledge of what is manifest and what isunmanifest. It is again all-pervading, possessed of attributes, subtile,and the refuge of all existences and attributes. As a lamp discovers allobjects great or small (irrespective of its own size), after the samemanner the Soul dwells in all creatures as the principle of knowledge(regardless of the attributes or accidents of those creatures). Urgingthe ear to hear what it hears, it is the Soul that hears. Similarly,employing the eye, it is the Soul that sees. This body furnishes themeans by which the Soul derives knowledge. The bodily organs are not thedoers, but it is the Soul that is the doer of all acts. There is fire inwood, but it can never be seen by cutting open a piece of wood. After thesame manner, the Soul dwells within the body, but it can never be seen bydissecting the body. The fire that dwells in wood may be seen byemploying proper means, viz., rubbing the wood with another piece ofwood. After the same manner, the Soul which dwells within the body may beseen by employing proper means, viz., yoga. Water must exist in rivers.Rays of light are always attached to the sun. After the same manner, theSoul has a body. This connection does not cease because of the constantsuccession of bodies that the Soul has to enter.[718] In a dream, theSoul, endued with the fivefold senses, leaves the body and roves overwide areas. After the same manner, when death ensues, the Soul (with thesenses in their subtile forms) passes out of one body for enteringanother. The Soul is bound by its own former acts. Bound by its own actsdone in one state of existence, it attains to another state. Indeed, itis led from one into another body by its own acts which are very powerfulin respect of their consequences. How the owner of a human body, leavingoff his body, enters another, and then again into another, how, indeed,the entire range of beings is the result of their respective acts (ofpast and present lives), I will presently tell you.'”