Chapter 236

“Vyasa said, ‘If Emancipation be desirable, then knowledge should beacquired. For a person who is borne now up and now down along the streamof Time or life, knowledge is the raft by which he can reach the shore.Those wise men who have arrived at certain conclusions (regarding thecharacter of the soul and that which is called life) by the aid ofwisdom, are able to assist the ignorant in crossing the stream of time orlife with the raft of knowledge. They, however, that are ignorant, areunable save either themselves or others. He who has freed himself fromdesire and all other faults, and who has emancipated himself from allattachments, should attend to, these two and ten requirements of yoga,viz., place, acts, affection, objects, means, destruction, certainty,eyes, food, suppression, mind and survey.[905] He who wishes to obtainsuperior Knowledge, should, by the aid of his understanding, restrainboth speech and mind. He who wishes to have tranquillity, should, by theaid of his knowledge, restrain his soul. Whether he becomes compassionateor cruel, whether he becomes conversant with all the Vedas or ignorant ofthe Richs, whether he becomes righteous and observant of sacrifices orthe worst of sinners, whether he becomes eminent for prowess and wealthor plunged into misery, that person who directs his mind towards these(attributes that I have spoken of), is sure to cross the ocean of lifewhich is so difficult to cross. Without speaking of the results of theattainment of Brahma by yoga, it may be said that he who sets himself toonly enquiring after the Soul transcends the necessity of observing theacts laid down in the Vedas. The body with jiva within it is an excellentcar. When sacrifices and religious rites are made its upastha, shame itsvarutha, Upaya and Apaya its kuvara, the breath called Apana its aksha,the breath called Prana its yuga, knowledge and the allotted period ofexistence its points for tying the steeds, heedfulness its handsomevandhura, the assumption of good behaviour its nemi, vision, touch,scent, and hearing its four steeds, wisdom its nabhi, all the scripturesits pratoda, certain knowledge of the scriptural declarations its driver,the soul its firmly-seated rider, faith and self-restraint itsfore-runners, renunciation its inseparable companion following behind andbent upon doing it good, purity the path along which it goes, meditation(or union with Brahma) its goal, then may that car reach Brahma and shinethere in effulgence.[906] I shall now tell thee the speedy means thatshould be adopted by the person who would equip his car in such a fashionfor passing through this wilderness of the world in order to reach thegoal constituted by Brahma that is above decrepitude and destruction. Toset the mind upon one thing at a time is called Dharana.[907] The Yoginobserving proper vows and restraints, practises in all seven kinds ofDharana. There are, again, as many kinds of Dharanas arising out ofthese, upon subjects that are near or remote.[908] Through these theYogin gradually acquires mastery over Earth, Wind, Space, Water, Fire,Consciousness, and Understanding. After this he gradually acquiresmastery over the Unmanifest.[909] I shall now describe to thee theconceptions in their order that are realised by particular individualsamongst those that are engaged in yoga according to the rules andordinances that have been laid down. I shall tell thee also of the natureof the success that attaches to yoga commenced (according to rules) byhim who looks within his own self.[910] The Yogin, that abandons hisgross body, following the instructions of his preceptor, beholds his souldisplaying the following forms in consequence of its subtility. To him inthe first stage, the welkin seems to be filled with a subtile substancelike foggy vapour.[911] Of the Soul which has been freed from the body,even such becomes the form. When this fog disappears, a second (or new)form becomes visible. For, then, the Yogin beholds within himself, in thefirmament of his heart, the form of Water. After the disappearance ofwater, the form of Fire displays itself. When this disappears, the formthat becomes perceivable is that of Wind as effulgent as a well-temperedweapon of high polish. Gradually, the form displayed by Wind becomes likethat of the thinnest gossamer. Then having acquired whiteness, and also,the subtlety of air, the Brahman’s soul is said to attain the supremewhiteness and subtlety of Ether. Listen to me as I tell thee theconsequences of these diverse conditions when they occur. That Yogin whohas been able to achieve the conquest of the earth-element, attains bysuch lordship to the power of Creation. Like a second Prajapati enduedwith a nature that is perfectly imperturbable, he can from his own bodycreate all kinds of creatures. With only his toe, or with his hand orfeet, that person can singly cause the whole Earth to tremble who hasachieved the lordship of the Wind. Even this is the attribute of the Windas declared in the Sruti. The Yogin, who has achieved the lordship ofSpace, can exist brightly in Space in consequence of his having attainedto uniformity with that element, and can also disappear at will. Bylordship over Water, one can (like Agastya) drink up rivers, lakes, andoceans. By lordship over Fire, the Yogin becomes so effulgent that hisform cannot be looked at. He becomes visible only when he extinguisheshis consciousness of individuality,–these five elements come within hissway. When the Understanding, which is the soul of the five elements andof the consciousness of individuality,[912] is conquered the Yoginattains to Omnipotence, and perfect Knowledge (or perception freed fromdoubt and uncertainty with respect to all things), comes to him. Inconsequence of this, the Manifest becomes merged into the Unmanifest orSupreme Soul from which the world emanates and becomes what is calledManifest.[913] Listen now to me in detail as I expound the science of theUnmanifest. But first of all listen to me about all that is Manifest asexpounded in the Sankhya system of philosophy. In both the Yoga and theSankhya, systems, five and twenty topics of knowledge have been treatedin nearly the same way. Listen to me as I mention their chief features.That has been said to be Manifest which is possessed of these fourattributes, viz., birth, growth, decay, and death. That which is notpossessed of these attributes is said to be Unmanifest. Two souls arementioned in the Vedas and the sciences that are based upon them. Thefirst (which is called Jivatman) is endued with the four attributesalready mentioned, and has a longing for the four objects or purposes(viz., Religion, Wealth, Pleasure and Emancipation). This soul is calledManifest, and it is born of the Unmanifest (Supreme Soul). It is bothIntelligent and non-Intelligent. I have thus told thee about Sattwa(inert matter) and Kshetrajna (immaterial spirit). Both kinds of Soul, itis said in the Vedas, become attached to objects of the senses. Thedoctrine of the Sankhyas is that one should keep oneself aloof ordissociated from objects of the senses. That Yogin who is freed fromattachment and pride, who transcends all pairs of opposites, such aspleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc., who never gives way to wrath orhate, who never speaks an untruth, who, though slandered or struck, stillshows friendship for the slanderer or the striker, who never thinks ofdoing ill to others, who restrains the three, viz., speech, acts, andmind, and who behaves uniformly towards all creatures, succeeds inapproaching the presence of Brahman. That person who cherishes no desirefor earthly objects, who is not unwilling to take what comes, who isdependent on earthly objects to only that extent which is necessary forsustaining life, who is free from cupidity, who has driven off all grief,who has restrained his senses, who goes through all necessary acts, whois regardless of personal appearance and attire, whose senses are allcollected (for devotion to the true objects of life), whose purposes arenever left, unaccomplished,[914] who bears himself with equalfriendliness towards all creatures, who regards a clod of earth and alump of gold with an equal eye, who is equally disposed towards friendand foe, who is possessed of patience, who takes praise and blameequally,[915] who is free from longing with respect to all objects ofdesire, who practises Brahmacharya, and who is firm and steady in all hisvows and observances, who has no malice or envy for any creature in theuniverse, is a Yogin who according to the Sankhya system succeeds inwinning Emancipation. Listen now to the way and the means by which aperson may win Emancipation through Yoga (or the system of Patanjali).That person who moves and acts after having transcended the puissancethat the practice of Yoga brings about (in the initial stages), succeedsin winning Emancipation.[916] I have thus discoursed to thee on thosetopics (viz., Emancipation according to the Sankhya system and thataccording to the Yoga system) which are dissimilar if the speaker bedisposed to treat them as such (but which in reality, are one and thesame).[917] Thus can one transcend all pairs of opposites. Thus can oneattain to Brahma.'”[918]