Philosophy and Religion / Yoga Vāsistha / Yoga-Vāsistha (6.1): Nirvāna-Prakarana

Válmiki

Yoga-Vāsistha, Book 6: Nirvāna-Prakarana (On ultimate extinction). Chapter 42 - The supreme soul and its phases and Names

Vasistha said- Tell me Lord! what is the state of the living soul, after its situation in the open air, and its observation of the vanity of the elemental and material body on its first creation.

The god replied- The living soul having sprung from the supreme, and being situated in
the open firmament, views the body formed in the aforesaid manner, as a man sees a vision in his dream.

The living soul being ubiquitous, enters and acts in every part of this body, according to the behest of the embodied intellect, as a sleeping man acts his parts in a dream, and bears his body still.

It was the indiscrete infinite soul before, and then became the discrete spirit called the first male, and this spirit was the primary cause of creation in itself.

Thus this animated spirit became as śiva, at the beginning of the first creation; it was called Visnu in another, had became the lotus born Brahmā or the great patriarch in the other.

This great progenitor of one creation, became the intellect in another, this became the volitive male agent of creation afterwards, and at last look upon it a male from according to its volition.

The primary volition of ideal creation becoming compact in time, it takes the form of the mind; which feels itself able to effect in act, whatsoever it wills in itself. ¹

This creation of tiie world by Brahmā is mere visionary, as the sight of a spectre in the air or in a dream; but it appears as a positive reality, to the erroneous sight of the realist. ²

The prime male agent that becomes the beholder of his creation, retains in him the power of exhibiting himself ³ in the empty air every moment, or to retract them in himself into time.

To him a Kalpa or great Kalpa age, is a mere twinkling of his eye; and it is by the expansion or contraction of himself, that the world makes it appearance or disappearance.

Worlds come to appear and disappear at his will, at each moment of time, in each particle of matter, and in every pore of space, and there is no end of this successions in all eternity.

Many things are seen to occur one after another, in conformity with the course of our desires; but we never find anything to take place, in concurrence with our sight of the holy spirit. ⁴

All things are created ⁵ with this creation, which do not occur to the unchanging śiva; and these are like the shadowy appearances in empty air, which rise of themselves and disappear in air.

All real and unreal appearances vanish of themselves, like mountains appearing in dreams; all these creations have no command over their causality, space or time.

Therefore all these phenomenal are neither real, potential or imaginary or temporary appearances; nor is there any thing, that is produced or destroyed at any time.

All these are the wondrous phenomena of our ideas and wishes (samkalpas), exhibited by the intellect in itself; and this world is like the appearance of an aerial castle in the dream, and subject to its rise and fall by turns.

The visible which appears to be moving about in time and space, has actually no motion whatever in either; but remains as fixed as an ideal rock in the mind forever. ⁶

So also the extension of the unreal world, is no extension at all; as the magnitude of an ideal rock has no dimension whatever. ⁷

The situation and duration of the unreal world, conform exactly with the ideas of its time and place, which exist in the mind of the maker of all: ⁸.

It is in this manner that he is instantly changed to a worm ⁹, and so are all the four orders of living beings born in this world.

Thus the curative power becomes all things, from the great Rudras down to the mean straws in a minute ¹⁰; and even such as are as minute as atoms and particles of matter ¹¹.

This is the course of the production of the past and present creating, and it is the reminiscence of the past, which is the cause of the delusion of taking the world for a real existence.

After giving away the thought of the difference between the creator and the created, and by the habit of thinking all as the unity, one becomes Śiva in a minute, and by thinking so for a longer period, one is assimilated to the nature of the supreme Intellect.

The intellect proceeds from the original intellect (of god), and rises without occupying any place. It is of the nature of understanding, and resides in the soul in the manner of empty air in the mist of a stone.

The soul which is of the manner of eternal light, is known under the denomination of Brahmā and the intellect which seated in this (soul), becomes weakened as the creative power increase, and strengthens in it. ¹²

Next the particles of time and place, join together in the formation of minute atoms; which by forming the elementary bodies, have the living principle added to them. ¹³

These then become vegetables and insects, and beasts, brutes and the forms of gods and demigods; and these being stretched out in endless series, remain as a long chain of being, connected by the strong and lengthening line of the soul. ¹⁴

Thus the great god that pervades over all his works in the worlds, connects all things in being and not being, as pearls in a necklace by the thread of his soul. He is ilelther near us nor even far from us; nor is he above or below anything whatever. He is neither the first nor last but ever lasting ¹⁵. He is neither the reality or unreality, nor is he in the midst of these.

He is beyond all alternatives and antitheses, and is not to be known beyond our imaginary ideas of him. He has no measure or dimension, nor any likeness, form or form to represent him. Whatever greatness and majesty are attributed to him by men, they are all extinguished in his glory as the fire is cooled in the water.

Now, I have related to you all what you asked me about, and will now proceed to my desired place. Be you happy, O sage, and go your way; and rise, O Pārvatī and let us take our way.

Vasistha said- when the god with his blue throat had spoken in this manner, I honoured him with throwing handfuls of flower upon him. He then rose with his attendants, and piercgd into the vacuity of heaven.

After departure of the lord of umā, and master of the three worlds, I remained for some time reflecting on all I had heard from the god, and then having received the new doctrine with the purity of my heart, I gave up the external form of my worshipping the Deity.

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