Laghu Yoga Vasishta
Laghu Yoga Vasishta
Translation by K. Narayanaswami Aiyer
Published by The Adyar Library And Research Centre
E-Text Source: archive.org
PREFACE
THE YOGA-VASISTHA is a popular text on Advaita Vedanta, Puranic in
form and philosophical in content. It is also known by other names
like Arsa Ramayana, Jnana Vasistha, Maha Ramayana, Vasistha
Ramayana and Vasistha and is ascribed to sage Valmiki himself. It
is in the form of replies given by Vasistha to Sri Rama's queries
regarding philosophical problems of life and death, and human
suffering, and treats the essentials of Advaita Vedanta. It seems
to advocate the dristi sristi vada which holds that the world
exists only so long as it is perceived: mano drsyam idam sarvam
'the whole world of things is the object of the mind'.
The Laghu-Yoga-Vasistha is an abridged version of the
Yoga-Vasistha, compiled by one Abhinanda of Kashmir. For the first
three Prakaranas there is a commentary called Vasistha Candrika by
Atman Suka, and for the last three Prakaranas, Mummidi Devaraya
wrote the Samsaratarani commentary (both published with the text,
Nirnayasagar Press, Bombay, 1888).
This English rendering of the Laghu-Yoga-Vasistha by the late K.
Narayanaswamy Aiyer was first published in 1896 (Thomson &
Co., Madras) and then in 19I4 (Hoe & Co., Madras). It is a
free translation trying to present the ideas contained in the text
in a lucid manner using at times the explanations of the Sanskrit
commentaries. The Adyar Library is again bringing this work into
print as there has been a demand for it. Some editorial changes
have been made. A biographical sketch of the translator has also
been included in this edition.
INTRODUCTION
IT is intended to give herein a short introduction to, and an
analysis of, Laghu Yoga Vasistha. Of course the analysis cannot be
an exhaustive one, as it will have then to run through many pages
and form a book of its own. There are, as at present known to us,
two works by the name of Yoga Vasistha, the larger one going by
the name of Brihat Yoga Vasistha and the smaller one, Laghu Yoga
Vasistha. The term Brihat means great, while Laghu signifies
small. Vasistha is because of this work emanating from Rishi
Vasistha as will be seen later on. Though the book is dubbed with
the appellation, Yoga Vasistha, it treats of jnana only though
practical Yoga is dealt with in two stories in this work. Even
there it says that the pure Raja-Yoga is meant and not Hatha-Yoga.
Rather the word Yoga seems to have been used in the title of this
work in its generic sense of including Jnana- Yoga and other Yogas
as in the Bhagavad Gita.
Of the two above mentioned works, the smaller one is an abridgment
of the bigger and contains about 6,000 Granthas [A Grantha equals
32 syllables], whereas the latter contains 36,000. The commentary
of the former has the same number of Granthas as the original
whereas that of the latter amounts to 74,000 Granthas which with
its original is a lakh on the whole. In the abridged text, almost
all the words of the bigger one are reproduced verbatim from the
bigger one, the work of the author being generally to clip the
bigger of its expansive descriptions and so on; so that in the
work before us, we have got the quintessence extracted. This work
seems to have been undertaken by one Abhinanda, a great pandit of
Kashmir. The authorship or rather writership is attributed to
Rishi Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana who is said to have
related the whole of Yoga Vasistha to Rishi Bharadwaja as having
occurred between Sri Rama and Rishi Vasistha. But of this, later
on. The larger work seems to have been partially translated by a
gentleman hailing from Bengal. But this one, though small, it is
named, is yet big enough.
This work is, in the words of Madame Blavatsky, 'meant for the few
only'. In the phraseology of this work, it is intended neither for
those Ajnanis (or the worldly-minded), who welter in the sea of
Samsara without being indifferent to the worldly things nor for
those higher spiritual personages who have reached a state of
adeptship, so as to be above all advice. Hence it is written in
the interests of those who have become indifferent to worldly
things and crave for spirituality becoming a potent factor in
their daily lives. Fancy a work like The Voice of Silence put into
the hands of a worldly person of decidedly materialistic view and
he will throw it away in sheer disgust. Similarly will this work
appear to a person who has not caught a glimpse even of the higher
life and principles. A person of true Vairagya, should he wish to
have not only some hints thrown on the nature of cosmos, Manas
(mind) and Universal Spirit from the idealistic standpoint but
also some rules of guidance in his daily practical life towards
occult knowledge with the proper illustrations will herein find,
in my opinion, a mine of knowledge to be guided by and to cogitate
upon.
There are some peculiar traits in the feature of this work as
contradistinguished from other spiritual works in the Sanskrit
literature. As all know, the Vedas and the Upanishads are so
mystic in their nature in many places that their real meaning is
not grasped clearly and all persons except true occultists rare to
find in this world interpret them in different ways, one holding
that the Vedas inculcate nature worship, another putting upon them
a diametrically opposed view and so on. Even in the Ten
Upanishads, all the metaphysical leaving aside for the present, as
impossible, the occult theories have not been worked out in a
systematic manner except in the way of some clues vouchsafed
thereupon. Taking the Puranas in their dead letter light, our
Pandits generally have found them replete with indecent and absurd
stories and thrown them into a corner; and hence the nick name of
Puranas has been applied, in ordinary usage amongst us, to
anything that is a farrago of fictions and absurdities. But for
the timely resurrection of them by H. P. Blavatsky with the
profound ray of light shed upon them by her, almost all of us
should have unanimously buried, by this time, into oblivion all
those savouring of Puranas. Even she has not thrown full light on
them, as she probably was not privileged so to do. As regard,
Itihasas, namely, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, they are
considered as so many stories only and as such are much in favour
of our orthodox Pandits who do not care to go above worldly
things. Vedanta soars high in the region of the Absolute with its
theories and words; and our metaphysicians of the old school in
India, carrying the notion of the physical world up there, try to
solve the problem of the homogeneity or otherwise of the Infinite
and are wrangling with one another as our Advaitins,
Visishtadvaitins and Dvaitins are doing in their everyday lives,
so much so that their arguments end in mental gymnastics only and
with nothing practical in their lives. Here a curious instance
occurs to me. One day an Advaita Pandit lectured in a certain
place about Brahman being Nirguna (or without any attributes), and
the only Reality and argued with great vehemence against his
adversary. Next day seeing him, while I was passing by,
circumambulate an idol in a temple, I asked him as to whom he was
paying respects. The Pandit merely laughed over the affair without
an answer. Thus are most of our Pandits, theorizing only with
nothing practical about them and soaring into the region of the
Absolute without a proper knowledge of the basic foundations of
Vedanta.
But Yoga Vasistha has chalked out for itself a new and distinct
path. At first, it enunciates a doctrine in its several bearings
and then elucidates it with beautiful stories. There in it gives
also rules of guidance for the conduct of life in the daily world,
these also finding their illustrations in the stories given out.
As in the Puranas, we have not to rack our brains over with the
slight hints thrown therein and to sometimes give up in despair
the problems before us.
Secondly This book serves as a ladder wherewith to scale from the
Seswara Sankhya doctrine of Patanjali as given out in his
Yoga-Sutras to the Maya-conception of the Advaita Pantheists and
thus renders possible a reconciliation between them both. Through
a study of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, it is clear from Book III,
Aphorism 17 that the cause of all pains is the conjunction of the
seer with the visual or the subject with the object; the
conception of 'I' having been brought about by the identification
of the subject with the object. Through Sakshatkara Anubhava or
direct realization, the Yogi finds he is one with the subject and
does not find then the reality of the object. It is this that is
illustrated in the story of Suka.
Thirdly, some of the theories and facts, occult, metaphysical or
otherwise, given out by H. P. B. find their corroborations in this
work. I have got a deep-seated conviction in me which tells me
that if Theosophical ideas are ever to gain a firm footing in
India, it can only be by showing that it is H. P. B.'s
explanations alone that can throw proper light upon and galvanize
with life our old Aryan works. For this purpose, I think all the
authorities, express or implied, which are found in a stray form
in the Hindu works, should be ransacked, culled out and given to
the world. As H. P. B. herself said, her business was to string
the flowers found in India as well as in other places and make a
nosegay out of the same.
Now I shall give out some illustrations. They are:
(I) That Para brahman, the Absolute is not the cause of the
creation of Brahma or the universe as creation implies some
conditioned thought and space and as the Infinite is unconditioned
and can therefore have no kind of causal relationship to that
which is finite or conditioned, viz., the universe which manifests
itself or is absorbed according to the Law of the Absolute (vide
the story of Sikhidwaja).
(2) Devas and Asuras are merely the opposite intelligential forces
or poles in nature such as positive and negative. With the
cessation of the one aspect, the other also ceases to exist. This
statement is to be found in the story of Prahlada.
(3) In The Secret Doctrine it is stated that the Asuras, Rudras,
etc., represent in one sense the egos of man; they being the
active powers as opposed to Devas, the passive ones. This fact is
exemplified in Sukra's story as well as in the story of the I00
Rudras.
(4) The eking out of the double and the means through which such
things are done, vis., through the mastery of Kundalini Sakti are
given out in the story of Sikhidwaja.
(5) Being itself a work intended for occult students, this book
gives out the seven states of Jnana and Ajnana (vide Utpaththi and
Nirvana Prakaranas); the seven Ajnana states are not given out in
the works I have come across though the former are.
(6) The relationship between an occult Guru and his Sishya or
disciple (as appears from the story of Sikhidwaja).
(7) The experiences of those persons (who are able to elevate
themselves beyond their physical bodies) as a Jiva-Suchi or
Neevara-Sukam, either as a needle or the tail-end of paddy which
is exemplified in the Story of Karkati.
(8) Some of the secret meanings of Brighu, Vasistha, Kasyapa,
etc., as well as of the worship of God.
(9) The reality of thought as in the story of Gadhi.
(I0) The emergence of all objects from the moon after a minor
deluge.
Vairagya Prakarana
Without multiplying more instances of this kind, I shall proceed
to the contents of this work. The occasion which called it forth
demands that the work was intended for those only who wish to
practically travel on the higher path. Most of our readers will
have been fully acquainted with the contents of our great Epic
poem, the Ramayana. We find therein that Rishi Viswamitra turns
upon the stage in the early years of Sri Rama. The Rishi appears
before his father, Dasaratha and demands of him his son Rama to
war with the Rakshasas interfering with his sacrifice. Just before
this time, Rama goes on a pilgrimage to the many sacred places;
and having visited the Asramas (hermitages) of the wise, returns
to his native place. On his return, he grows quite disgusted with
his material life, spurns his wealth and other regal possessions
and grows despondent without performing any of his daily duties.
His attendants go and complain to the King his father of the
grievous plight of their master. Thereupon the father sends for
his son, seats him on his lap and enquires of him his state. But
the son evades the question by simply laughing over the affair and
gets away. At this juncture, Muni Viswamitra turns up and the King
delighted with the usual arrival of such a distinguished and
reverend guest consents to execute any orders of the noble Muni.
The Muni demands Rama for his aid at which Dasaratha is
panic-struck. Yet rallying himself, he volunteers his own services
in lieu of his eldest and dearly beloved boy begotten through dire
Tapas. Immediately the Muni begins to curse Dasaratha for his
vacillation in the fulfilment of his promises, when Vasistha
interposes and pacifies the sage by making the King fulfil his
promise. Then Rama is sent for and his servants meanwhile relate
to the Rishis the pitiable present plight of their master
disdaining to perform such actions as tasting food, drinking
water, etc. At which Vasistha remarks that the Vairagya
(indifference) of the Prince is not akin to that produced by such
momentary accidents as the loss of some dearly beloved relative or
wealth but is one which is the premonitory symptom of a spiritual
development in him after which development all his duties will be
regularly performed by him. On Rama's arrival at the regal
assembly, he is asked by one of the Rishis as to the cause of his
present sorrow. At which Rama makes a long tirade against wealth,
life, Ahankara, Manas (mind), desires, body and other material
things and at last winds up by saying that he will rather expose
himself to the torments of hell-fire than undergo the excruciating
mental tortures, consuming him little by little through the above
mentioned causes. This concludes the chapter called Vairagya
Prakarana or the section on indifference to worldly things.
Mumukshu Prakarana
This work consists on the whole, of six Prakaranas or sections.
Passing by the first, namely, Vairagya Prakarana which has
appended to it, the story of Suka, the son of the present Vyasa,
we have five other Prakaranas, namely, Mumukshu (longing after
Salvation), Utpatti (origin), Stithi (preservation), Upasanthi
(quiescence) and Nirvana (absorption), the last. In these five
chapters, Vasistha inculcates advice upon Rama, gives him the
reason why and how he should work in the world by tracing the
origin of the universe and the 'I' in man to which are identical
from the idealistic stand point with the Original Cause or the
Causeless Cause of all and devising means for their destruction
and finally initiates him into the mysteries of Atman.
First comes the story of Suka in the first Prakarana. Suka was not
satisfied with all the explanations his father, Vyasa gave of Maya
and hence resorted to Janaka for aid who by Aparoksha or direct
realisation within himself, showed the end. Then comes the second
Prakarana called Mumukshu. Of the four fold qualifications
necessary to a disciple on the path, vis., the discrimination of
Atman and non-Atman, etc., Rama having developed the first three
is asked by Vasistha to concentrate his mind upon the attainment
of Moksha. For this purpose, Vasistha expatiates in Mumukshu
Prakarana upon the preliminary qualifications necessary for the
attainment of Moksha or salvation. Here the author says that the
four sentinels posted at the gate of Moksha are Santi (quiescence
of mind or sweet patience), Vichara (the enquiry after Atman),
Santosha (contentment of mind) and Sadhu-Sanga (association with
the wise) and will have to be befriended by one wishing to attain
Moksha. Should one of them at least be befriended, he will
introduce the aspirant to his companion sentinels. Then the author
goes on to explain that Moksha does not mean the physical
separation from all worldly affairs but only a state of the mind
bereft of all impure Vasanas or clinging towards, but yet working
as usual amidst, worldly things. The difference between Vasanas,
pure and impure is well defined in this chapter.
Having thus given out the nature of the goal towards which all
egos are gravitating, Vasistha, in order to relieve Rama from the
mental despair and anguish in which he was placed, then traces the
origin of 'I', its growth and its quiescence and then that state
from which the above three states can be viewed as one. For this
purpose, he gives out its relationship with the one Reality and
the universe. This is precisely the position in which Arjuna was
placed when he was instructed by Sri Krishna as in the Bhagavad
Gita and when also he was told the relationship existing between
the Universal Spirit, the ego and the cosmos; the difference being
that the detailed instructions in this work are not given in a
veritable battle field but in that of the mind and are illustrated
by a series of stories wherein the different stages of the mind
are worked out to suit a disciple on the path. Now taking his
stand on the Pantheistic conception of Brahman being the one
Reality and the universe and Jiva as his aspect or manifestation,
Vasistha begins the Utpatti Prakarana with the statement that the
Jiva or ego in man and the universe in their innate condition are
Brahman only and this phenomenal universe is but an outcome of the
Divine Will seeming to be real through the workings of the mind.
In the technical phraseology of this work, the ideation reflected
in the Lila-Sankalpa of Brahman is the origin of the world; its
manifestation, the preservation of the world; and its
disappearance, the destruction of the world. These are the three
aspects that are dilated upon in the second, third and fourth
Prakaranas. In other words, the old Hindu philosophers held that
the universe is nothing but states or modes of consciousness
reflected through the Sankalpa or will of Para Brahman which is
said through its Law to evolve the universe out itself for its
Lila or sport. The word Sankalpa is rather a difficult word to
translate. Originally it is the Divine Will in manifestation and
in man in his present stage becomes the will-thought pertaining to
his Antahkarana or the lower mind. It is through the Sankalpa of
our Manas that the universe appears to be and it is this Sankalpa
that is asked to be given up by one who wishes to soar to the one
Reality beyond this universe. The author of this work defines, in
one chapter, Sankalpa to mean the ideation of Aham or 'I'; which
arises in the relationship of subject to object when conditioning
is brought about.
Utpatti Prakarana
In beginning with Utpatti Prakarana, the author gives out a story
to illustrate Para Brahman manifesting itself as Brahma, the
creator with the conception of 'I' through its own Sankalpa.
Instead of giving out, as in the Puranas, that the creator, Brahma
arose out of the navel of Narayana with four hands, etc., this
work states that, out of the one vast Akasa of Jnanam, the one
Plenum of Abstract Intelligence, a Brahmin, the primeval ego
called Akasaja was born who lived for a long time when Kala (time)
wanted to get at him and bring him under his clutches but was
unable to do so through the radiant Tejas (lustre) that shone
about his person. Then Kala consulted with Yama (Death) who also
is the personification of Time but in the lower or Rupa planes and
advised the former to go in quest, of any of the past Karmas of
the Brahmin which were found to be nil. Thereupon Yama is said to
have remarked to Kala that the Brahmin was no other than Brahma
himself; though performing Karmas, Brahma had nothing clinging to
him, as he did not perform them for any selfish purposes of his
own. From this, it will be clear that, ere creation began, there
was one vast space or Akasa with no activity in it or in the
noumenal state of Para Brahman. When evolution began, three kinds
or states of Akasa are said to have evolved, vis., Jnanakasa,
Chidakasa and Bhutakasa. The last is the elemental Akasa
compounded of the quintuplicated five elements, Akasa, Vayu, etc.,
whereas Chidakasa corresponds to the plane of the lower mind.
Jnanakasa corresponds to the third body or plane. The first ego of
Brahma which is differentiated into many is then, in the story of
Lila, traced in its workings in the three Akasa above-mentioned.
The three pairs introduced therein are (i) Lila and Padma, (2)
Arundhati and Vasistha, (3) Viduratha and his spouse. In the story
of Karkati we come to the lowest stage, whether of the man or
world. The intelligence or Purusha that pervades the physical body
is described in this story. In the Upanishads and other books, the
Purusha in this stage is likened to a thread or the tail-end of
paddy. As stated in this work further on, the normal experience of
humanity now is of being no other than the physical body, though
some may, in theory, hold that they are different from the body;
the second experience is the direct perception of their being like
a thread-like substance in the gross body and being different from
the gross one. In the third state, they rise to a direct
experience of their being the universe. The Rakshasi Karkati
having a voracious stomach was unable to fully gratify her
appetite and hence got a boon from Brahma to enter as a Jiva-Suchi
or living needle into all human beings, with the power of
troubling those of lower desires but becoming the slaves of those
who are conquerors of them. It is this Rakshasi that is at the
bottom of all our pains and that can be made to minister to our
wants, if we will only make up our minds to lord over our desires.
The story of Aindhava brings some corroborations to the occult
doctrine. The author, after describing that the universe is no
other than the aspect of the Brahmic intelligence, now proceeds to
the enumeration of the worlds that exist. At the beginning of a
creation, Brahma is said to have asked the resplendent orb of the
sun to describe its origin. The sun and its nine brothers of suns
are said to have been born out of Indu since according to the
Hindu or occult doctrine all things merge into the moon during
Pralaya - the son of Kasyapa, and to be ruling over the ten worlds
created by their own Sankalpa as if they were Brahmas themselves.
Hence arose the ten worlds out of their minds. These ten worlds
may refer to either the ten solar systems or the ten worlds which
are subtler and subtler than one another and existing in space.
Besides the 7 worlds as ordinarily known, there are said to be at
first three other worlds which have arisen out of the one. Out of
the one arises at first the three lokas of Brahma, Vishnu and
Rudra who originate and work in the seven worlds, Bhu, Bhuvar,
etc., up to Satya. Then are introduced the stories of the wily
Indra, Chitta and a lad to exemplify the illusory nature of the
universe. In the story of Sambarika, the Siddha, the illusory
nature of time is also illustrated. Thus eight stories conclude
this chapter wherein is traced the initial stage of the origin of
'I' wherein is exemplified the fact that the universe arises out
of the mere Sankalpa of the original creator, both the universe
and Jiva, the intelligence arising as the illusory aspect of the
one Substratum.
Sthithi Prakarana
This section deals with the Sthithi character or the preservative
aspect of the mind or the universe. In the first story of Sukra,
the ego is made to pass after its origin through a series of
births in a time appearing very short to his father Bhrigu who was
then engaged in Nirvikalpa Samadhi near his son and hence was
existing in higher planes. Students of esoteric literature know
full well that, of all the planets, Sukra or Venus corresponds to
our ego or the higher Manas. This higher Manas and the ray of
Atman or Buddhi pass through the different forms of humanity as
well as the lower ones. Having traced thus, the author next
proceeds to give out the curious story of Dama and two others to
illustrate how the 'I' in man developss itself in him after
innumerable births with the Ahankara we find in him now. Once upon
a time, there raged a war between the Devas and the Asuras. The
latter, finding themselves worsted in it, created through the
Mayavic power of their leader three men without Ahankara or the
conception of 'I' in them to fight with their opponents; since one
without Ahankara will be able to face his enemy without any the
least fear, and regardless of the consequences of his actions. The
Devas, finding their enemy too tough for them to deal with,
applied to the higher powers for help. Vishnu advised them to
adopt a rather queer plan. That was of again and again pretending
to make war with their opponents and of again and again retiring
from the field, when their enemy made onslaughts against them. By
this process, they were told by Vishnu that the 'I' in the Mayavic
personages would be provoked and hardened and that those
personages would grow terribly afraid of the results of the war
and be discomfited through the generation of 'I' in them. This
procedure was adopted and the Devas gained the day. After this was
over, three others of true Jnana and hence without Ahankara were
created afresh by the Asuras and sent against the Devas, Finding
them too hard to combat with, the passive powers of Devas again
implored Vishnu for aid. In this instance, Vishnu came directly to
the field of battle and took the 3 Mayavic personages away, as men
of true Jnana find their asylum in Him alone. Thus we find that
the desires in the external world which have at first no hold on
the subtle 'I' in this world get a hold over it and concrete it
through, as it were, a play of spiral game with it. It thus takes
a long time ere the evils desires take possession of the heart.
Likewise many births are required for their eradication. Both
these stages are necessary to a progressing ego. The ego should
first get into desires and be tinged with Ahankara; so that,
through such a course, it may learn the lessons at their hands and
after the lessons are learnt it no longer needs the desires and
gets out of them. This is the reason why, in that, valuable work
called The Light on the Path, it is said: 'Seek in the heart the
source of evil and expunge it. It lives fruitfully in the heart of
the devoted disciple as well as in the heart of the man of desire.
Only the strong can kill it out. The weak must wait for its
growth, its fruition, its death. And it is a plant that lives and
increases throughout the ages. It flowers when the man has
accumulated unto himself innumerable existences'.
Then this Prakarana, having in all 5 stories, ends with those of
Dhasura and Kacha wherein it is sought to explain the position
that, though the universe appears to be real in itself in this
stage, it is nothing but Atmic Sankalpa or a mode of the
consciousness of Atman. It is in this Prakarana that the three
modes of Ahankara engendered are mentioned. The first is the stage
where the man identifies himself with the physical body which is
the lowest of Ahankaras and ought to be shunned. The second is
where one identifies himself with a thread-like small wire. In the
third stage, he finds he is this entire universe. These three
stages correspond to the gross, subtle and causal bodies of man
and are the intelligences presiding over them. Beyond these is
Turya, the 4th stage where one is above the universe and
identifies himself with the Spirit itself.
Upasanthi or Upasama Prakarana
This is the section which deals with the quiescence of the mind
after its sport in the universe. This Prakarana rejoices in nine
stories wherein it is stated that the quiescence of mind can be
obtained only after many births. To develop this state, many means
are given out, such as the Lord's grace through Bhakti or
devotion, the direct knowledge of Maya, Yoga, Atma-Vichara or
Atmic enquiry, and Chitta-Nirodha or the control of mind,
Pranayama, etc. King Janaka sees all as Chidanada and reaches a
higher state. Punnya and Pavana reach the goal after the lapse of
many births. Bali of the Trivikrama Avatar did his actions in a
Nishkama manner without reference to their fruits. Prahlada was
ever worshipping the lotus feet of Isvara. Gadhi, the father of
Viswamitra had a direct perception of Maya and thence of God,
since the Absolute cannot be seen without overcoming Maya.
Atma-Vichara or Atmic enquiry was the ceaseless means adopted by
Uddhalaka and Suraghu. Bhasa and Vilasa put an end to all their
pains through the same course. Veethahavya resorted to Pranayama
or the control of breath for the subjugation of his mind.
The story of Gadhi is worthy of being reproduced here. Having been
daily engaged in meditation in water, he one day wished to know
the nature of Maya and was blessed by Vishnu the Higher Self, here
represented as a dark blue cloud with the boon of seeing Maya
directly and of overcoming it. Some days after, as he was passing
to the waters of a tank, his mind recurred to the boon of Vishnu;
and when he stepped into the tank, he was entranced and vividly
remembered, in his normal state, all the lives he had led during
his Samadhi, as a Brahmin and as a Chandala (out-caste). Not
knowing the reason why these visions arose, he returned home where
he met with a guest who uttered some words which went to prove
that his dream in the tank was a reality. So in order to verify
the same, he went to the many places pointed out by the guest and
found all the events of his dream realized as an actuality in the
waking state. This story illustrates the fact that the many lives
we are going through in our present state of Ajnana are like so
many dream lives which, though they may appear as true like our
waking states, are yet not so, when a high stage of spiritual
development arises. In the story of Veethahavya with which this
Prakarana winds up, the different stages of his development on the
uttering of the sacred word, Pranava, are described. To produce a
control of the mind, two things are essential, Prana Nirodha and
Sanga-Tyaga, viz., the control of Prana and renunciation of Sanga
or association. By the latter is meant not disassociation with the
world but only with the longing after, or the attraction towards,
the objects of the world. By Prana-Nirodha, the author expressly
states that he does not mean it in the Hatha-Yogic form but only
in the Raja-Yogic way.
Nirvana Prakarana
This last section has 14 stories in it. The ego in this stage
reaches the Turya or fourth state, after the developed one has
'crossed the three Halls' and is able to have a commanding view of
the lower stages. This Prakarana begins with the story of
Bhusunda, the great Yogi. Bhusunda, meaning a crow, typifies a
great spiritual power existing from a very remote period through
marvellous Yoga strength and, according to his own version, had
witnessed Vasisthas born eight times, Hiranyakshas diving with the
earth down into Patala thrice, Daksha, the Prajapati losing the
sacrifice twice and other mysteries. Then comes the story of Deva
Puja. Here is stated the true rationale of the Puja or worship of
God now conducted by the Hindus. All the form worships are
intended for the men in the lower stages alone. Brahma, Vishnu,
Rudra, etc., are developed entities only. Jnana alone is the true
God and the flowers, etc., with which God has to be worshipped are
equal vision over all, contentment of mind, spiritual wisdom, etc.
Of course this is likely to disturb the equilibrium of our
orthodox men; but facts cannot be gainsaid and should be given
out. After some stories are passed, the story of Arjuna comes in
where in Karmas are asked to be performed without caring for their
fruits. But the best story of all in this Prakarana is the story
of Sikhidwaja. Some years ago it came out in 'The Theosophist' in
a series of articles. The author impresses, through this story
upon a disciple, the necessity of a Guru, an adept and not an
ordinary teacher in order to lead him on into the higher pursuits
of occult mysteries. Otherwise the disciple will only be, like the
blind led by the blind. He is asked to place implicit faith in the
words of such a Guru. The Master can truly impress his thoughts
upon the student's mind only when it is rendered passive to that
of the teacher, Otherwise no real progress in occultism in
possible. But the Hindus of modern days have degraded it to such
an extent as to exact the same kind of obedience from an ordinary
student towards an ordinary teacher. Then some other points have
also to be noticed in this story. True renunciation lies not in
immuring oneself in a closet or going to a forest but in
performing one's Karmas with a mental abnegation. One should
neither court fresh Karmas nor shirk the old ones that are
peculiarly his. This should be the position of a true Jnani. True
renunciation or Sannyasa is finely illustrated in this story. King
Sikhidwaja after leaving his kingdom, retires into the forest.
There his wife, herself an adept, visits him in her Mayavic Rupa
or double, assuming a male physical form and passing by the name
of Kumbha Muni. When the king found that this supposed Muni was a
personage of great powers, he took him up as his Guru; he
consenting to the two conditions imposed upon him as in other
cases of initiation, namely, implicit faith in, and acting up to,
the words of the Guru and repeated efforts to be made for the
entire control of the mind. Then the Muni remarks that the King's
pains were caused by want of true Sannyasa or renunciation in him.
The King replies that he gave up his kingdom, wealth, wife, etc.,
and retired into the forest and wishes to know if that is not true
renunciation. No, the Muni replies. Then the King gives up his
love for the forest in which he is and asks if that does not
constitute true renunciation. Again did the same negative word
come out of the lips of the Muni. Then the King consigns the bowl,
cloth, etc., which alone he has, into the fire and wishes to know
if that is not Sannyasa. Again was the same negative reply given
out. Then the King ruminates over his situation; it is sin on his
part to gainsay his Master's words and hence he dives into himself
and finds that the last cumbrance in him is his body which he
wants to dispose of by ascending a high cliff and precipitating it
down the same, when the Muni prevents him from doing so and
remarks that true renunciation lies in the mind and not in the
external things such as body, etc. Then the Muni sets the King
aright by going into the origin of pain.
Herein is also given out the dual nature of Manas, the mind, the
pure one being purely Satvic in nature and the impure one being
full of Rajas and Tamas. The author says clearly that the non-dual
Reality which exists amidst the many heterogeneous things of the
world can be cognized through one's self-cognition only and not by
any amount of words or logic or thought. Therefore if a person as
a Jivanmukta cognizes through Samadhi the absolute identity of all
things, and yet moves as usual in this world, then he will in
course of time reach a state called Videhamukti, when he will
throw aside all shackles of bodies and merge into the Absolute
font of Bliss. As, at the end of every Prakarana in this work,
there is a chapter which summarizes the subjects dealt with in it,
this Prakarana closes with a chapter called Nirvana Prakarana,
wherein are described the seven states of Jnana, the seven states
of Ajnana having been given out in a previous chapter.
As regards the age of this work, we leave it to competent
authorities to theorize as best as they may. The events recorded
herein should have occurred in Treta Yuga, when Rama incarnated.
But in the initiation of Rama by Vasistha as recorded in this
work, we find the story of Arjuna introduced herein. Is it not an
anachronism, some may ask? We shall find this objection will
vanish into thin air if we bear in our mind the fact that nature
is cycling round and round and is not a sealed book to our
ancients. Every recurrence of the Yugas brings with it its own
Vyasas, Ramas and others. Therefore before the divine vision of
our omniscient Rishis, all the events, past as well as future,
march in one procession as recorded in the tablets of Chitragupta.
This is the very objection which many Orientalists have taken
without understanding exactly the views of the Hindus as regards
the book of nature. This reply to the objection made is one that
has been urged by some of our medieval commentators.
Whether Yoga-Vasishta is considered as an authority or not, it is
a matter of perfect indifference, so far as enquiring minds who
are thirsting after real knowledge are concerned. We judge every
work on its own merits and according to that canon of
interpretation; we leave this work to the public to be judged.
There are many repetitions in this work which are inevitable in a
Hindu religious book treating of the most abstruse questions of
philosophy and occultism. This work may well be given the title of
an amplified 'Voice of Silence,' of Madam Blavatsky dressed in the
Hindu garb. We launch out this translation of Laghu Yoga Vasistha
with the conviction that full justice has not been done to the
original.
It will be found that in many places in this work the translation
is free and many Sanskrit words have been left untranslated. Of
course in a work like this teeming with stories, a literal
translation will but mar the original. There are two reasons which
induced me to retain the Sanskrit words themselves in this work.
Some of the terms used herein have no proper English equivalents
and hence do require periphrastic expressions to express rightly
the underlying ideas. Many of the terms have become commonly known
to readers of Vedantic literature. To understand this work fully,
its predecessor 'Vasudeva-Manana’ or the meditations of Vasudeva a
compendium of Advaita philosophy published by us will be of great
help. One new feature of the present translation is the summary
given for every chapter or story.
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