rule



 

 

Canto 10

Vibhāvarī S'esha

 

 

Chapter 87: The Underlying Mystery: Prayers of the Personified Vedas

(1) S'rī Parīkchit said: 'Oh brahmin, the Absolute Truth [brahma] cannot be described in words [*] and has no material qualities. How can the revealed scriptures [the s'ruti, the Vedas] dealing with the basic qualities of nature, directly refer to that what is elevated above cause [the subtle] and effect [the gross]?'

(2) S'rī S'uka said: 'The intelligence, senses, mind and the life force of the living beings were by their Lord and Master evolved for the sake of [dealing with, being satisfied with] elementary matter, for the sake of getting a life and for the sake of the [emancipation of the] soul and its ultimate liberation. (3) The predecessors [like the Kumāras] of our predecessors [like Nārada] were fixed on this same underlying mystery [upanishad] concerning the Absolute Truth. Whoever with faith holds on to it, will be free from material attachment and attain peace and happiness [see also 8.24: 38]. (4) I will here relate to you now an account concerning Lord Nārāyana. It is about a conversation between Nārāyana Rishi and Nārada Muni.

(5) One day, when the Supreme Lord's beloved Nārada was traveling the worlds, he went for a visit to the ās'rama of the Eternal Seer, Nārāyana. (6) From the beginning of Brahmā's day, He [Nārāyana Rishi] has, just for the welfare in this and the next life of human beings, maintaining the dharma, in Bhārata-varsha been engaged in penances, spiritual knowledge and peacefulness [see kalpa]. (7) Having arrived there he [Nārada] bowed down to Him who sat there surrounded by sages from Kalāpa - the village where He resided - and asked this very same question, oh best of the Kurus. (8) As the seers were listening, the Supreme Lord related the following ancient discussion about the Absolute Truth that took place between the inhabitants of Janaloka [the world of the celibate saints]. (9) The Supreme Lord said: 'Oh son of the self-born Lord [Brahmā], long ago in Janaloka a sacrificial ceremony took place held by the [ūrdhva-retah] celibate sages there who had found their life in Brahmā. (10) You [Nārada] had left for S'vetadvīpa to see the Lord [Aniruddha]. Thereupon a lively discussion ensued [between the sages of Janaloka] about Him [Vishnu in the function of Aniruddha] in whom the Vedas lie down to rest [after the dissolution of the material world] that gave rise to the question you are now again asking Me. (11) Even though they were equally qualified as for their penance and study of the s'ruti as also equal minded towards friends, foes and neutrals, they appointed one of them as their speaker while the rest eagerly listened.'



(12-13) S'rī Sanandana said: 'When He [Mahā-Vishnu], after having created this universe, withdrew for the sake of its dissolution and was lying asleep, the Vedas in person awakened the Supreme One with descriptions of His characteristics, the way a sleeping king by his court poets is awakened when they as his servants approach him at dawn with [recitations of] his heroic deeds. (14) The Vedas said: 'All glories, oh all glories to You! Please, Unconquerable One, defeat the eternal illusion which assumed the form of the natural modes and constitutes the [human] weakness. Because You, who in Your original status are complete with all opulences, at times engaging with Your spiritual and material energies awaken the powers of the mobile and immobile embodied beings [awake them to consciousness], You can by us, the Vedas, be supported [**]. (15) The world we perceive is by the seers regarded as a product of something greater [of brahman], as something which no more than clay [as a resource] undergoes any change itself when it is transformed in forms that dissolve again. For that reason the seers dedicated their minds, words and actions to You. Where else could the footsteps of men be placed than on the ground they are walking [see also 6.16: 22, 11.24: 18 and B.G. 7: 20-25]? (16) Your people of enlightenment, oh Master of All the Three Worlds, therefore dive deep into the nectarean ocean of the narrations [about You, the kathā], which eradicate the impurity and put an end to their troubles. It is therefore not that surprising that they, who by the power of their own minds dispelled the [unwanted] qualities of the [identification with one's] temporality, oh Supreme One, experience the uninterrupted happiness of Your abode in their worship. (17) They who, like a bellows, are just displacing some air as they breathe [see B.G. 18: 61], are full of vitality [only] when they are Your faithful followers, [for] You, who are elevated above cause and effect, constitute the underlying reality from whose mercy the universal egg of the material complete, the separate existence [the ego] and the other aspects of creation were produced [see 3.26: 51-53]. Adapted to the particular forms of the living being, You then appear here as the Ultimate Form among the different gross and subtle physical coverings [the kos'as and B.G. 18: 54]. (18) Among those living according to the standards of the seers, they who are engrossed in their vision worship the abdomen [the lower centers], while the Ārunis [the superior yogis] first of all fix their attention on the prānic knot of the subtle energies [see cakra] of the heart. From there, oh Unlimited One, they move [their attention] upward to the head, which is Your abode, and then they go to the highest destination from which they, having reached it, never again fall down in the mouth of death [see also B.G. 8: 16]. (19) Entering in a certain manner the, by You differently created, species of life as their motivation, You become visible depending the higher or lower form of Your own created beings, just as fire manifests itself [depending the form ignited]. You thus existing among them as the 'real' among the 'unreal', are understood as being one unchanging, pure, central refuge, by those who, free from material entanglements, have spotless minds [see also B.G. 2: 12]. (20) The person, residing within the bodies he owes to his karma, is, as an expansion of You who are the possessor of all energies, as is stated [by the Vedas], in fact not of the external [the gross body, the deha], nor of the internal [the subtle body, the linga], but is [by these bodies] enveloped. When scholars of the scriptures have developed faith in ascertaining the status of the living entity as being of that manifestation [as an expansion or part and parcel of Yours, a person], they worship Your feet as the source of liberation and the field in which all offerings are sown. (21) By diving deep into the vast nectar ocean of the adventures of the forms You assumed to propagate the hard to grasp principle of the soul, the few souls who found relief from the fatigue [of a material life] do not even wish to be liberated from this world, oh Lord. This is so because they, after abandoning their homes, found association with the community of the swans [the transcendental people] at Your lotus feet [see e.g. 4.24: 58, 4.30: 33, 5.12: 16, 5.13: 21, 7.6: 17-18, 7.14: 3-4]. (22) This body useful for serving You, acts as one's self, one's friend and beloved. They however, who alas fail to delight in You, rather find the degradation of the physical frame [in successive births], in spite of You as their very Self being favorably disposed, helpful and affectionate. As a matter of fact they, failing to find their way with their great existential fears, cling to material desires and are [thus] self destructive ['soul killing'] in their worship of the unreal [see also B.G. 16: 19]. (23) That what by the sages, with their breathing, mind and senses being brought under control in steadfast yoga, is worshiped in the heart, is also attained by those who remember You in enmity [see also 3.2: 24 and 10.74: 46]. We [the s'rutis] will likewise attain You and, being equally considered by You, equally relish the nectar of the lotus feet enjoyed by the women [the gopīs, Your wives] whose minds are attracted to Your arms firm as mighty snake bodies. (24) Ah, who out here, who but recently was born and soon will die, has an inkling of the One Who Came First, from whom the [leading] seer [Brahmā] arose who was followed by the two groups of demigods [controlling the senses and the principles. See B.G. 7: 26]? When He lies down to withdraw, at that time nothing remains of the gross and the subtle, nor of that what comprises them both [the bodies], while also the flow of Time and the S'āstras are no longer there [B.G. 9: 7]. (25) They who, teaching with authority, declare that life springs from dead matter, that that what is eternal would end [see B.G. 2: 16], that the soul would not be one [see 10.14: 9] and that doing business would constitute reality [see B.G. 17: 28]; they who state that the living being thus would have been produced from the three modes [see B.G. 14: 19 and 13: 28], are fixed on a dualistic notion born from ignorance. Such a thing cannot exist in Your transcendence, in You, who are the Essence of Full Perception [see also 5.6: 9-11]. (26) The threefoldness and its forms up to the human beings, appears as something real to the mind, but is in You seen as something untrue [as temporal]. The entirety of this world with its forms is by the knowers of the Self not rejected as being different from the Self [though]. Because the forms [and also persons] created by Him are transformations not different from Him, like forms of gold all being gold, they consider this creation, which was entered by Him, as being Him in person [see also 6.16: 22]. (27) They who worship You as the shelter of all created beings, simply put their feet on the head of Death and look away from him. With Your words You tie up even the scholars [among the non-devotees], the way one ties up animals. Those [among them] who consider themselves Your friends [thus] arrive at purification, but not so they who turned away from You. (28) You are the self-effulgent causeless One [free from the senses] who maintains the power of the sensory functions of all creatures. The demigods, together with the unborn Lord Brahmā, take part in paying You tribute and partake of the offerings carried, just as the local rulers in a kingdom, together with the sovereign who rules the entire country, are of respect [for You] and enjoy their share. That is how they who are the appointed leaders perform their duties in fear of You. (29) The species of life, which manifest themselves as stationary and moving, are by Your material energy motivated for action. But that can happen only when You, the One aloof, oh Eternally Liberated One, cast Your glance briefly ['awaiting'] upon it [by assuming Your forms] for having Your pastimes in the material world. To [You] the Supreme [Personality of Godhead], no one can be a stranger or a friend, just as the ether can have no perceptible qualities. In that sense You are like the void of space. (30) If the countless embodiments of the living beings would be eternal, the omnipresent [Time] as a consequence would not be such a sovereign rule, oh Unchanging One. But it is not otherwise. Because the substance cannot be independent from that from which it was generated [- pradhāna, the primeval ether -] [You] the regulator [who are the Time, B.G. 10: 30] must be known as being equally present everywhere [as the 'fourth dimension']. When one supposes that one knows [You materially], one is mistaken in the falsehood of an opinion [on the local order, see 6.5: 19]. (31) Material nature [prakriti] and the person [purusha] do not find their existence at a particular point in time. Not originating as such [from one or the other], it is from the combination of these two [primordial elements] that living bodies find their existence in You, just as bubbles find their existence as a combination of water and air. And just as rivers merge into the ocean and all flavors [of flower nectar] merge into the honey, these living beings with all their different names and qualities [in de end] merge [again] in [You,] the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 7]. (32) Those who are wise understand the extend to which Your māyā bewilders human beings, and frequently render traditional service unto You, the source of liberation. How could there, for the souls who faithfully follow You, be any kind of fear about a material existence, a fear that by the three rimmed [wheel of Time - of past, present and future] - by Your furrowing eyebrows - repeatedly is raised in those who do not take shelter of You [see also B.G. 4: 10, 7: 14 & 14: 26]? (33) The mind, being conquered by the senses and the breath, is like a horse not under control [B.G. 2: 60 and 5.11: 10]. Those who in this world strive for regulation but have abandoned the feet of the guru, find, being most unsteady with the various methods of control, full of distress hundreds of obstacles on their way, oh Unborn One. They are like merchants [sailing] on the ocean who failed to employ a helmsman [see 10.51: 60 & B.G. 4: 34]. (34) What do servants, children, a body, a wife, money, a house, land, vitality and vehicles mean to human beings for whom You became their very Self, the Embodiment of All Pleasure? And what at all would to those, who fail to appreciate the truth [of Him] and carry on with their indulgence in sexual matters, bring [real] happiness in this world subject to destruction that, on itself, is lacking meaning [see also B.G. 13: 8-12]? (35) The seers free from false pride who, with the greatest piety, on this earth direct themselves at the places of pilgrimage and the sites of His pastimes, have installed Your feet in their heart and destroy all sins with the water that washed their feet. They who but once turned their mind towards You, the Supreme Soul of Eternal Happiness, will never again devote themselves to the homely affair [of a family life] that steals away a person's essential qualities. (36) If someone says: 'From the real [of God] the real [of the universe] has manifested', that can certainly be doubted and refuted [*4]. The combination is inconsistent, for it is true in a number of cases, while it is an illusion not being so in other cases. For the sake of worldly purposes, rows of people with a dark vision like to consider it alternatively and bewilder, with different meanings and implications of Your numerous words of wisdom, those who are not using their minds with the ritual praises. (37) Because this universe did not exist in the beginning and after its annihilation neither will exist, can be concluded that what in-between appears within You, the sole object of love, is a useles show [or a false representation]. We understand this universe thus as an [illusory, bewildering] combination of different categories of the [real] primal substance [see text 26], while the less intelligent souls prone to falsehood, take for real what the mind makes of it [see B.G. 6: 8]. (38) For reason of [the insurmountable presence of] material nature, he [the living entity] reconciles himself to that undeveloped state and, taking to her qualities [the gunas], accordingly assumes forms. Bound to those forms he is deprived of spiritual qualities and runs into [the facts of birth and] death. You Yourself, on the other hand, leave her [the material energy] aside like a snake shedding its skin and are, in Your eightfold greatness [see siddhis] glorified as the One Unlimited in His Glories who is endowed with all spiritual qualities. (39) When those who restrain themselves do not uproot the desires in their hearts, they, in their impurity, cannot reach You who have entered their heart. They are like someone who has forgotten the jewel he hung around his neck. Yoga practitioners who are satisfied with an animalistic life will be unhappy in both [worlds here and hereafter]: [here with] death they cannot escape [and hereafter with] You whose kingdom they cannot reach [see also B.G. 6: 41-42]. (40) Someone who understands You, is not concerned about the favorable or unfavorable, good or bad associated with the body he has assumed, neither does he care about what others say. Oh You of All qualities, day after day he fills his ears with the song heard in every age through the disciplic succession. For that reason the children of Manu [the human beings, see 3.22: 34-39 and 5.13: 25] consider You the ultimate goal of liberation. (41) Neither the masters of heaven nor even You, can reach the end of Your glories, oh Unlimited One, oh You within whom the many universes by the drive of Time, each in their own shell, are blown about in the sky like particles of dust. The s'rutis bearing fruit by [neti neti] eliminating that what is not the Absolute Truth, find in You their ultimate conclusion [see siddhānta].'

(42) The Supreme Lord said: 'Having heard this instruction about the True Self, the sons of Brahmā understood their final destination and worshiped thereupon, perfectly satisfied, the sage Sanandana. (43) This is how in the past the nectar of the underlying mystery of all the Vedas and Purānas [the Upanishad philosophy] was distilled by the great souls [the classical sages] who appeared in this world to roam in higher spheres. (44) Oh heir of Brahmā [Nārada], wander the earth as you wish, meditating with faith on this instruction about the Soul that turns the desires of man into ashes.'

(45) S'rī S'uka said: 'The self-possessed rishi, thus receiving the command of the sage, accepted it faithfully, oh King. Now completely being of success he, whose vow was as firm as a kshatriya's, after due consideraton said the following. (46) S'rī Nārada said: 'My obeisances to Him, the Supreme Lord Krishna of a spotless renown, who manifests His attractive expansions for the liberation of all living beings [1.3: 28].'

(47) Thus having spoken, Nārada bowed down to the Original Rishi [Nārāyana] and to the great souls who were His pupils. Then he went from there to the hermitage of my physical father, Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa. (48) He was honored by the great devotee [Vyāsa] who offered him a seat, whereupon Nārada sat down and described to him what he had heard from the mouth of S'rī Nārāyana. (49) Thus I answered your question, oh King, on how the mind can be engaged in the Absolute Truth [- the reality] without material qualities that cannot be expressed in words. (50) He who watches over this universe in the beginning, the middle and the end, He who is the Controller of the unmanifested matter [pradhāna] and the individual soul [jīva], He who sent forth this universe, entered it along with the individual seer and producing bodies [with him] regulates them, He, because of whom one surrendering abandons the material energy that one embraces the way a sleeper abandons his body, is the Supreme Lord upon whom one incessantly should meditate to be free from fear [see B.G. 16: 11-12, 1.9: 39 and the bhajan Sarvasva Tomāra Carana].'

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Third revised edition, loaded December 30, 2021.

 

 

 

 

Previous Aadhar edition and Vedabase links:

Text 1

S'rī Parīkchit said: 'Oh brahmin, the Absolute Truth [brahma] cannot be described in words [*] and has no material qualities. How can the revealed scriptures [the s'ruti, the Vedas] dealing with the basic qualities of nature, directly refer to that what is elevated above cause [the subtle] and effect [the gross]?'

S'rī Parīkchit said: 'O brahmin, how can the sacred texts [the s'ruti, the Vedas], dealing with the different modes of nature, express themselves about the inexpressible [*] Absolute Truth that is elevated above cause [the subtle] and effect [the gross]?' (Vedabase)


Text 2

S'rī S'uka said: 'The intelligence, senses, mind and the life force of the living beings were by their Lord and Master evolved for the sake of [dealing with, being satisfied with] elementary matter, for the sake of getting a life and for the sake of the [emancipation of the] soul and its ultimate liberation.

S'rī S'uka said: 'The intelligence, senses, mind and life force of the living beings were by their Lord and Master evolved for the sake of the sensual, for the sake of getting a life and for the sake of the [emancipation of the] soul and its ultimate liberation. (Vedabase)

 

Text 3

The predecessors [like the Kumāras] of our predecessors [like Nārada] were fixed on this same underlying mystery [upanishad] concerning the Absolute Truth. Whoever with faith holds on to it, will be free from material attachment and attain peace and happiness [see also 8.24: 38].

This same philosophical exercise concerning the Absolute Truth was observed by the predecessors [like the Kumāras] of our predecessors [like Nārada]. Whoever with faith concentrates upon it will be free from material attachment and attain peace and tranquility [see also 8.24: 38]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 4

I will here relate to you now an account concerning Lord Nārāyana. It is about a conversation between Nārāyana Rishi and Nārada Muni.

For this purpose will I relate to you an account concerning Lord Nārāyana. It concerns a conversation between Nārāyana Rishi and Nārada Muni. (Vedabase)

 

Text 5

One day, when the Supreme Lord's beloved Nārada was traveling the worlds, he went for a visit to the ās'rama of the Eternal Seer, Nārāyana.

Once went the Supreme Lord's beloved Nārada as he was traveling the worlds, for a visit to the ās'rama of the Eternal Seer Nārāyana. (Vedabase)

 

Text 6

From the beginning of Brahmā's day, He [Nārāyana Rishi] has, just for the welfare in this and the next life of human beings, maintaining the dharma, in Bhārata-varsha been engaged in penances, spiritual knowledge and peacefulness [see kalpa].

From the beginning of Brahmā's day has He [Nārāyana Rishi], just for the welfare in this and the next life of the human beings who abide by dharma, jńāna and self-control, in Bhārata-varsha been performing penances [see  kalpa].(Vedabase)


Text 7

Having arrived there he [Nārada] bowed down to Him who sat there surrounded by sages from Kalāpa - the village where He resided - and asked this very same question, oh best of the Kurus.

Having arrived there bowed he down to Him who sat there surrounded by sages of Kalāpa, the village where He resided, and asked he this very same question, o best of the Kurus. (Vedabase)

 

Text 8

As the seers were listening, the Supreme Lord related the following ancient discussion about the Absolute Truth that took place between the inhabitants of Janaloka [the world of the celibate saints].

As the seers were listening related the Supreme Lord this ancient discussion about the Absolute Truth among the inhabitants of the world of the mortals [Janaloka]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 9

The Supreme Lord said: 'Oh son of the self-born Lord [Brahmā], long ago in Janaloka a sacrificial ceremony took place held by the [ūrdhva-retah] celibate sages there who had found their life in Brahmā.

The Supreme Lord said: 'O son of the self-born Lord [Brahmā], in the past was there, among the ones residing in the world of the mortals, a sacrifice held for the sake of which the [ūrdhva-retah] celibate sages who had found their life in Brahmā [- who were born from him -] exercised their spirituality. (Vedabase)


Text 10

You [Nārada] had left for S'vetadvīpa to see the Lord [Aniruddha]. Thereupon a lively discussion ensued [between the sages of Janaloka] about Him [Vishnu in the function of Aniruddha] in whom the Vedas lie down to rest [after the dissolution of the material world] that gave rise to the question you are now again asking Me.

With you having left for S'vetadvīpa to see the Lord, ensued about Him [Vishnu in the function of Aniruddha] in whom the Vedas lay down to rest [after the dissolution of the material world], indeed a lively exposition which brought up the question that you now again are asking Me. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 11

Even though they were equally qualified as for their penance and study of the s'ruti as also equal minded towards friends, foes and neutrals, they appointed one of them as their speaker while the rest eagerly listened.'

Even though they were equally qualified from their penance and their study of the s'ruti and equal to friends, foes and neutrals, appointed they one of them as their speaker while the rest eagerly listened.' (Vedabase)

 

Text 12-13

S'rī Sanandana said: 'When He [Mahā-Vishnu], after having created this universe, withdrew for the sake of its dissolution and was lying asleep, the Vedas in person awakened the Supreme One with descriptions of His characteristics, the way a sleeping king by his court poets is awakened when they as his servants approach him at dawn with [recitations of] his heroic deeds.

S'rī Sanandana said: 'When He after having created this universe relating to its disolution withdrew and was lying asleep, awakened the Vedas in person the Supreme One with descriptions of His characteristics, the same way a sleeping king by his court poets is awakened as they as his servants approach him at dawn with [reciting] his heroic deeds. (Vedabase)

 

Text 14

The Vedas said: 'All glories, oh all glories to You! Please, Unconquerable One, defeat the eternal illusion which assumed the form of the natural modes and constitutes the [human] weakness. Because You, who in Your original status are complete with all opulences, at times engaging with Your spiritual and material energies awaken the powers of the mobile and immobile embodied beings [awake them to consciousness], You can by us, the Vedas, be supported [**].

The Vedas said: 'All glories, all glories to You, please o Unconquerable One defeat the eternal illusion that assumed the form of the modes and creates the detrimental. Because You at times engage Yourself with the from Your inner self springing energies of the embodied ones who move and not move about, can You by us, the Vedas, be appreciated who in Your original status are complete in all opulences [**]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 15

The world we perceive is by the seers regarded as a product of something greater [of brahman], as something which no more than clay [as a resource] undergoes any change itself when it is transformed in forms that dissolve again. For that reason the seers dedicated their minds, words and actions to You. Where else could the footsteps of men be placed than on the ground they are walking [see also 6.16: 22, 11.24: 18 and B.G. 7: 20-25]?

This world is by the seers regarded as being the end product of a greater complete [of brahman], for it is like with clay that in transformation leads to forms that dissolve again but itself doesn't change. For that reason dedicated the seers their minds, words and actions to You. Where else could the footsteps of men be placed than on the ground they are walking [see also 6.16: 22, 11.24: 18 and B.G. 7: 20-25]? (Vedabase)

 

Text 16

Your people of enlightenment, oh Master of All the Three Worlds, therefore dive deep into the nectarean ocean of the narrations [about You, the kathā], which eradicate the impurity and put an end to their troubles. It is therefore not that surprising that they, who by the power of their own minds dispelled the [unwanted] qualities of the [identification with one's] temporality, oh Supreme One, experience the uninterrupted happiness of Your abode in their worship.

Thus do Your people of enlightenment o Master of All the Three Worlds, rid themselves of their troubles by diving deep into the ocean of the nectar of the narrations [the kathā] that eradicates the contamination. No wonder then that they who by the power of their own minds dispelled the qualities of the temporal O Supreme One, in their worship experience the uninterrupted happiness of Your abode. (Vedabase)

 

Text 17

They who, like a bellows, are just displacing some air as they breathe [see B.G. 18: 61], are full of vitality [only] when they are Your faithful followers, [for] You, who are elevated above cause and effect, constitute the underlying reality from whose mercy the universal egg of the material complete, the separate existence [the ego] and the other aspects of creation were produced [see 3.26: 51-53]. Adapted to the particular forms of the living being, You then appear here as the Ultimate Form among the different gross and subtle physical coverings [the kos'as and B.G. 18: 54].

They who only displace air as they breathe [see B.G. 18: 61] are really alive when they are Your faithful followers, for You, elevated above cause and effect, are the underlying reality from Whose mercy the universal egg of the material complete, the separate existence and the other aspects and material elements of the person were produced [see 3.26: 51-53]. According the particular forms that furthermore were manifested, You appear as the Ultimate Form among the more or less material, physical coverings [the kos'as and B.G. 18: 54]. (Vedabase)


Text 18

Among those living according to the standards of the seers, they who are engrossed in their vision worship the abdomen [the lower centers], while the Ārunis [the superior yogis] first of all fix their attention on the prānic knot of the subtle energies [see cakra] of the heart. From there, oh Unlimited One, they move [their attention] upward to the head, which is Your abode, and then they go to the highest destination from which they, having reached it, never again fall down in the mouth of death [see also B.G. 8: 16].

According the standards of the seers are they who are engrossed in their vision of worship for the abdomen [the lower centers] and fix the Ārunis [the superior yogis] first of all their attention on the prānic knot of the subtle energies [see cakra] of the heart, after which they, o Unlimited One, go upward to the head which is Your abode and next go to the highest destination from which they, once they reached it, never fall down again into the mouth of death [see also B.G. 8: 16]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 19

Entering in a certain manner the, by You differently created, species of life as their motivation, You become visible depending the higher or lower form of Your own created beings, just as fire manifests itself [depending the form ignited]. You thus existing among them as the 'real' among the 'unreal', are understood as being one unchanging, pure, central refuge, by those who, free from material entanglements, have spotless minds [see also B.G. 2: 12].

Apparently as their motivator [pro or contra] entering the by You differently created species of life, do You depending the situation in Your own creation become visible about the way fire manifests itself [depending the form ignited]. You thus being among them as the real [equal to itself and eternal] among the unreal [variegated expansion that is temporal] are by the ones who are connected to Your manifestation and not being entangled have spotless minds, understood as being one [unchanging, permanent] state of love [see also B.G. 2: 12]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 20

The person, residing within the bodies he owes to his karma, is, as an expansion of You who are the possessor of all energies, as is stated [by the Vedas], in fact not of the external [the gross body, the deha], nor of the internal [the subtle body, the linga], but is [by these bodies] enveloped. When scholars of the scriptures have developed faith in ascertaining the status of the living entity as being of that manifestation [as an expansion or part and parcel of Yours, a person], they worship Your feet as the source of liberation and the field in which all offerings are sown.

The person within the bodies he owes to his own activities is in fact as an expansion of You, the possessor of all energies so it isaid [by the Vedas], not of the external [the gross body, the deha], nor of the internal [the subtle body, the linga] but [by these bodies] enveloped. And so do, once they have developed faith ascertaining the status of the living entity as being manifested in this manner, the ones learned in the sacred precepts worship Your feet as the source of liberation and field in which all offerings are sown. (Vedabase)

 Text 21

By diving deep into the vast nectar ocean of the adventures of the forms You assumed to propagate the hard to grasp principle of the soul, the few souls who found relief from the fatigue [of a material life] do not even wish to be liberated from this world, oh Lord. This is so because they, after abandoning their homes, found association with the community of the swans [the transcendental people] at Your lotus feet [see e.g. 4.24: 58, 4.30: 33, 5.12: 16, 5.13: 21, 7.6: 17-18, 7.14: 3-4].

By diving deep into the vast ocean of nectar of the pastimes of the forms You assumed in order to propagate the hard to grasp principle of the soul, do the few who found relief from the fatigue [of a material life] not even wish to be liberated from this world, o Lord. This is so because they, abandoning their homes, found association with the community of the swans [the transcendental people] at Your lotus feet [see e.g. 4.24: 58, 4.30: 33, 5.12: 16, 5.13: 21, 7.6: 17-18 , 7.14: 3-4]. (Vedabase)

  

 Text 22

This body useful for serving You, acts as one's self, one's friend and beloved. They however, who alas fail to delight in You, rather find the degradation of the physical frame [in successive births], in spite of You as their very Self being favorably disposed, helpful and affectionate. As a matter of fact they, failing to find their way with their great existential fears, cling to material desires and are [thus] self destructive ['soul killing'] in their worship of the unreal [see also B.G. 16: 19].

This body useful for serving You acts as one's self, one's friend and beloved. However, even though You, favorably disposed as their very Self, are helpful and affectionate, do they who alas fail to delight in You rather find the degradation of the physical frame [in successive births], suicidal as they are in their worship of the unreal when they time and again fail to find their way with their existential fears [see also B.G. 16: 19]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 23

That what by the sages, with their breathing, mind and senses being brought under control in steadfast yoga, is worshiped in the heart, is also attained by those who remember You in enmity [see also 3.2: 24 and 10.74: 46]. We [the s'rutis] will likewise attain You and, being equally considered by You, equally relish the nectar of the lotus feet enjoyed by the women [the gopīs, Your wives] whose minds are attracted to Your arms firm as mighty snake bodies.

That what by the sages with their breathing, mind and senses brought under control in steadfast yoga is worshiped in the heart, is also attained by the ones who remember You in enmity [see also 3.2: 24 and 10.74: 46]. Similarly will we attain You and relish the same nectar of the lotus feet as the women enjoy [the gopīs, the wives] who in their mind and with their eyes are attracted to Your arms that are as firm as mighty snake bodies. (Vedabase)

  

 Text 24

Ah, who out here, who but recently was born and soon will die, has an inkling of the One Who Came First, from whom the [leading] seer [Brahmā] arose who was followed by the two groups of demigods [controlling the senses and the principles. See B.G. 7: 26]? When He lies down to withdraw, at that time nothing remains of the gross and the subtle, nor of that what comprises them both [the bodies], while also the flow of Time and the S'āstras are no longer there [B.G. 9: 7].

Ah, who out here who but recently was born and soon will die has an inkling who the first one would be from whom arose the seer [Brahmā] after whom followed the two groups of demigods [to the senses and the principles. See B.G. 7: 26]? When He lies down to withdraw is there at that time neither the gross, nor the subtle, nor that [the bodies] comprising both; nor is there the flow of Time or are the S'āstras there [B.G. 9: 7]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 25

They who, teaching with authority, declare that life springs from dead matter, that that what is eternal would end [see B.G. 2: 16], that the soul would not be one [see 10.14: 9] and that doing business would constitute reality [see B.G. 17: 28]; they who state that the living being thus would have been produced from the three modes [see B.G. 14: 19 and 13: 28], are fixed on a dualistic notion born from ignorance. Such a thing cannot exist in Your transcendence, in You, who are the Essence of Full Perception [see also 5.6: 9-11].

They who teaching with authority declare that life springs from dead matter and that there would be finality to the eternal [see B.G. 2: 16], that the soul wouldn't be one [see 10.14: 9] and that the duality of mundane business is something real [see B.G. 17: 28], are mistaken in their from ignorance born dualistic conception that the living entity thus would be produced from the three modes [only without You, their Oneness Beyond, see B.G. 14: 19 and 13: 28]; that is what one gets when one concerning such transcendental matters is not of [knowledge with] You, the Essence of Full Perception [see also 5.6: 9-11]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 26

The threefoldness and its forms up to the human beings, appears as something real to the mind, but is in You seen as something untrue [as temporal]. The entirety of this world with its forms is by the knowers of the Self not rejected as being different from the Self [though]. Because the forms [and also persons] created by Him are transformations not different from Him, like forms of gold all being gold, they consider this creation, which was entered by Him, as being Him in person [see also 6.16: 22].

The [temporal of forms and thus the] untrue threefold and its [mind-]phenomena up to the human beings, appear in You as if they would be true, but they are nevertheless by the knowers of the Soul who consider the entirety of this world as something true [viz. as Your living body] not rejected, because they are transformations non-different from Him. They, created by Him who enters [His creation] Himself, are as such recognized as being of the True Self in the same sense as gold is not different when it is assigned different forms [see also 6.16: 22]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 27

They who worship You as the shelter of all created beings, simply put their feet on the head of Death and look away from him. With Your words You even tie up the scholars [among the non-devotees], the way one ties up animals. Those [among them] who consider themselves Your friends [thus] arrive at purification, but not so they who turned away from You.

They who worship You as the shelter of all created beings do not worry about Death and simply put their feet on his head, but even the sages [among them] are tied by Your words the way animals are tied. It are they who consider themselves Your friends who [thus] find purification, not so much they who turned away from that. (Vedabase)


 Text 28

You are the self-effulgent causeless One [free from the senses] who maintains the power of the sensory functions of all creatures. The demigods, together with the unborn Lord Brahmā, take part in paying You tribute and partake of the offerings carried, just as the local rulers in a kingdom, together with the sovereign who rules the entire country, are of respect [for You] and enjoy their share. That is how they who are the appointed leaders perform their duties in fear of You.

You who self-effulgent are free from labor are the sustainer of all who are of karma [bound as they are to their senses]. The godly vigilant with the material of nature carry You tribute and enjoy the same excercise of respect offered to them, just like it is with the local rulers in a kingdom in relation to the sovereign ruling the entire country - that is how they who are of success in fear of You execute their assigned duties. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 29

The species of life, which manifest themselves as stationary and moving, are by Your material energy motivated for action. But that can happen only when You, the One aloof, oh Eternally Liberated One, cast Your glance briefly ['awaiting'] upon it [by assuming Your forms] for having Your pastimes in the material world. To [You] the Supreme [Personality of Godhead], no one can be a stranger or a friend, just as the ether can have no perceptible qualities. In that sense You are like the void of space.

By Your material energy are the species of life, that manifest themselves as stationary and moving, motivated for action, but that can happen only when You, the One aloof, o Eternally Liberated one, cast Your brief glance by assuming Your forms to have Your pastimes in the material world. To [You] the Supreme can no one be a stranger or a friend, just like the ether can have no perceptible qualities. In that sense are You like the void of space. (Vedabase)


 Text 30

If the countless embodiments of the living beings would be eternal, the omnipresent [Time] as a consequence would not be such a sovereign rule, oh Unchanging One. But it is not otherwise. Because the substance cannot be independent from that from which it was generated [ - pradhāna, the primeval ether -] [You] the regulator [who are the Time, B.G. 10: 30] must be known as being equally present everywhere [as the 'fourth dimension']. When one supposes that one knows [You materially], one is mistaken in the falsehood of an opinion [on the local order, see 6.5: 19].

If the countless embodied beings wouldn't be time-bound, would the omnipresent consequently not be such a sovereign rule, o Unchanging One. Because the substance cannot be independent from that from which it was generated [ - pradhāna, timespace, primeval ether -] must [You] the regulator [of Time] be known as being equally present everywhere and not as being somewhere else. For that reason is one mistaken supposing that one knows [the complete of You], since one is of the imperfect [local order] with what one is knowing [see 6.5: 19]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 31

Material nature [prakriti] and the person [purusha] do not find their existence at a particular point in time. Not originating as such [from one or the other], it is from the combination of these two [primordial elements] that living bodies find their existence in You, just as bubbles find their existence as a combination of water and air. And just as rivers merge into the ocean and all flavors [of flower nectar] merge into the honey, these living beings with all their different names and qualities [in de end] merge [again] in [You,] the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 7].

The generation of the material world and its enjoyer [the male principle, the person, the purusha] is not something that happens; it is from the combination of these two unborn elements that living bodies within You find their existence like bubbles that appear in water [in combination with air]. Just like rivers merge into the ocean and all flavors of nectar merge into the honey, merge these living beings with all their different names and qualities [in de end again] into the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 7]. (Vedabase)


 Text 32

Those who are wise understand the extend to which Your māyā bewilders human beings, and frequently render traditional service unto You, the source of liberation. How could there, for the souls who faithfully follow You, be any kind of fear about a material existence, a fear that by the three rimmed [wheel of Time - of past, present and future] - by Your furrowing eyebrows - repeatedly is raised in those who do not take shelter of You [see also B.G. 4: 10, 7: 14 & 14: 26]?

The ones of wisdom fervent unto You understanding how Your māyā bewilders the human beings render potent loving service unto You, the source of liberation; how would for those who faithfully follow You, there be any of the fear of a material existence that the three rimmed [wheel of Time of past, present and future] of Your furrowing eyebrows repeatedly creates with those who do not take shelter of You? [see also B.G. 4: 10, 7:14 & 14:26]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 33

The mind, being conquered by the senses and the breath, is like a horse not under control [B.G. 2: 60 and 5.11: 10]. Those who in this world strive for regulation but have abandoned the feet of the guru, find, being most unsteady with the various methods of control, full of distress hundreds of obstacles on their way, oh Unborn One. They are like merchants [sailing] on the ocean who failed to employ a helmsman [see 10.51: 60 & B.G. 4: 34].

Conquered by the senses and breath is the mind like a horse not brought under control [B.G. 2: 60 and 5.11: 10]. Those who out here endeavor to regulate but abandon the feet of the guru, meet with hundreds of obstacles in their distress and unsteadiness with the various methods of control, o Unborn One. They are like merchants who sailing the ocean failed to employ a helmsman [see 10.51: 60 B.G. 4: 34]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 34

What do servants, children, a body, a wife, money, a house, land, vitality and vehicles mean to human beings for whom You became their very Self, the Embodiment of All Pleasure? And what at all would to those, who fail to appreciate the truth [of You] and carry on with their indulgence in sexual matters, bring [real] happiness in this world subject to destruction that, on itself, is lacking meaning [see also B.G. 13: 8-12]?

What do servants, children, a body, a wife, money, a home, land, vitality, and vehicles mean to human beings for whom You became their very Self, the Embodiment of All Pleasure. And what at all would to those who carrying on with their indulgence in sexual matters fail to appreciate the truth [of Him], bring [real] happiness in this world subject to destruction that on itself is void of any essence? [see also B.G. 13: 8-12] (Vedabase)

 

 Text 35

The seers free from false pride who, with the greatest piety, on this earth direct themselves at the places of pilgrimage and the sites of His pastimes, have installed Your feet in their heart and destroy all sins with the water that washed their feet. They who but once turned their mind towards You, the Supreme Soul of Eternal Happiness, will never again devote themselves to the homely affair [of a family life] that steals away a person's essential qualities.

The seers free from false pride who, with the greatest piety on this earth direct themselves at the places of pilgrimage and the sites of His pastimes, have installed Your feet in their heart and destroy the sins themselves with the water of their feet. They who but once turned their mind towards You, the Supreme Soul of Eternal Happiness, will never again dedicate themselves to the homely affair [of a family life] that steals away a person's essential qualities. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 36

If someone says: 'From the real [of God] the real [of the universe] has manifested', that can certainly be doubted and refuted [*4]. The combination is inconsistent, for it is true in a number of cases, while it is an illusion not being so in other cases. For the sake of worldly purposes, rows of people with a dark vision like to consider it alternatively and bewilder, with different meanings and implications of Your numerous words of wisdom, those who are not using their minds with the ritual praises.

'From the true manifested the true' so one may say, but that must be refuted as being a specious argument. Just because it is true in a number of cases is this connection not always found. Because the conjunction is found at times are by a succession of people groping in the dark the matters of every day life differently presented and then do Your numerous words of wisdom bewilder and loses one one's attentiveness with the incantations one has with the rituals. (Vedabase)


 Text 37

Because this universe did not exist in the beginning and after its annihilation neither will exist, can be concluded that what in-between appears within You, the sole object of love, is a useles show [or a false representation]. We understand this universe thus as an [illusory, bewildering] combination of different categories of the [real] primal substance [see text 26], while the less intelligent souls prone to falsehood, take for real what the mind makes of it [see B.G. 6: 8].

Because all of this didn't exist in the beginning and hence will not exist after its annihilation, can be concluded that that what in the interim appears within Your manifestation, is the untruth to be avoided. And thus is that [interim existence] to those who are stable in their spirituality but a figment of imagination, even though one can compare it all in categories of material substance that appear in varieties of transformations [see text 26], transformations that by the unintelligent conversely are considered something worshipable [see B.G. 6: 8]. (Vedabase)


 Text 38

For reason of [the insurmountable presence of] material nature, he [the living entity] reconciles himself to that undeveloped state and, taking to her qualities [the gunas], accordingly assumes forms. Bound to those forms he is deprived of spiritual qualities and runs into [the facts of birth and] death. You Yourself, on the other hand, leave her [the material energy] aside like a snake shedding its skin and are, in Your eightfold greatness [see siddhis], glorified as the One Unlimited in His Glories who is endowed with all spiritual qualities.

He [the living entity] reconciles himself, because of the insurmountable of matter, to that energy and assumes, in taking to her qualities, accordingly forms. In his attachment to those forms is he deprived of His advantage and runs he into [the facts of birth and] death. You on the other hand with the grace You have leaves her aside like a snake that sheds its skin and are in Your eightfold greatness [see siddhis] glorified as the One Unlimited in His Glory. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 39

When those who restrain themselves do not uproot the desires in their hearts, they, in their impurity, cannot reach You who have entered their heart. They are like someone who has forgotten the jewel he hung around his neck. Yoga practitioners who are satisfied with an animalistic life will be unhappy in both [worlds here and hereafter]: [here with] death they cannot escape [and hereafter with] You whose kingdom they cannot reach [see also B.G. 6: 41-42].

If persons having entered a renounced life do not uproot the traces of material desires in their hearts and as yoga practitioners [just] live to satisfy their animal needs, have they, being unhappy in not having moved away from death, in both [this life and the hereafter], missed Your heavenly kingdom. For the impure it is impossible to attain when they have forgotten You with You by them carried as a jewel around their neck [see also B.G. B.G. 6: 41-42]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 40

Someone who understands You, is not concerned about the favorable or unfavorable, good or bad associated with the body he has assumed, neither does he care about what others say. Oh You of All qualities, day after day he fills his ears with the song heard in every age through the disciplic succession. For that reason the children of Manu [the human beings, see 3.22: 34-39 and 5.13: 25] consider You the ultimate goal of liberation.

Someone who understands You takes no heed of the good and bad consequences of the auspicious and inauspicious that in the moment rises from You [in the here and now], nor takes he heed of the words of other living beings. Every day, o You of All qualities, is he of the song that in every age is heard through the disciplic succession of the children of Manu [see 3.22: 34-39 and 5.13: 25]. And thus are You by him considered the ultimate goal of liberation.  (Vedabase)


 Text 41

Neither the masters of heaven nor even You, can reach the end of Your glories, oh Unlimited One, oh You within whom the many universes by the drive of Time, each in their own shell, are blown about in the sky like particles of dust. The s'rutis bearing fruit by [neti neti] eliminating that what is not the Absolute Truth, find in You their ultimate conclusion [see siddhānta].'
 

Neither the masters of heaven can discern the end of the glories of You so Unlimited, nor even You Yourself, You within whom the multitudes of universes - each in their own shell - with the Course of Time are blown about in the sky as particles of dust. In You finding their ultimate conclusion bear the s'rutis fruit by [neti neti] eliminating that what is not the Absolute of You [see siddhānta]'. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 42

The Supreme Lord said: 'Having heard this instruction about the True Self, the sons of Brahmā understood their final destination and worshiped thereupon, perfectly satisfied, the sage Sanandana.

The Supreme Lord said: 'Thus having heard this instruction about the True Self, understood the sons of Brahmā their final destination and worshiped they following perfectly satisfied sage Sanandana. (Vedabase)


 Text 43

This is how in the past the nectar of the underlying mystery of all the Vedas and Purānas [the Upanishad philosophy] was distilled by the great souls [the classical sages] who appeared in this world to roam in higher spheres.

Thus was by the classical sages who appeared in this world to roam in higher spheres, of all the Vedas and Purānas the nectar of the underlying mystery [of the Upanishad philosophy] distilled. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 44

Oh heir of Brahmā [Nārada], wander the earth as you wish, meditating with faith on this instruction about the Soul that turns the desires of man into ashes.'

O you heir of Brahmā [Nārada], wander the earth as you wish, meditating with faith upon this instruction about the Soul that turns to ashes the desires of man.' (Vedabase)

 

 Text 45

S'rī S'uka said: 'The self-possessed rishi, thus receiving the command of the sage, accepted it faithfully, oh King. Now completely being of success he, whose vow was as firm as a kshatriya's, after due consideraton said the following.

S'ri S'uka said: 'He, self-possessed, who this way was commanded by the sage accepted that faithfully, o King, and spoke, now completely being of success, the following after first, firm in his belief, having meditated upon what he had heard. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 46

S'rī Nārada said: 'My obeisances to Him, the Supreme Lord Krishna of a spotless renown, who manifests His attractive expansions for the liberation of all living beings [1.3: 28].'

S'rī Nārada said: 'My obeisances to Him, the Supreme Lord Krishna spotless in His glories, who manifests His all-attractive expansions for the liberation of all living beings [1.3: 28].' (Vedabase)

  

 Text 47

Thus having spoken, Nārada bowed down to the Original Rishi [Nārāyana] and to the great souls who were His pupils. Then he went from there to the hermitage of my physical father, Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa.

Thus having spoken bowed he down to the Original Rishi [Nārāyana] and to the great souls who were His pupils, and went he from there to the hermitage of my physical father, Dvaipāyana Vedavyāsa. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 48

He was honored by the great devotee [Vyāsa] who offered him a seat, whereupon Nārada sat down and described to him what he had heard from the mouth of S'rī Nārāyana.

After by the great devotee having been honored and having accepted a seat from him, described he to him what he had heard from the mouth of S'rī Nārāyana. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 49

Thus I answered your question, oh King, on how the mind can be engaged in the Absolute Truth [- the reality] without material qualities that cannot be expressed in words.

Thus has your question been answered o King, about how the mind would find its way with the Absolute Truth, the truth which having no material qualities is so hard to express in words. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 50

He who watches over this universe in the beginning, the middle and the end, He who is the Controller of the unmanifested matter [pradhāna] and the individual soul [jīva], He who sent forth this universe, entered it along with the individual seer and producing bodies [with him] regulates them, He, because of whom one surrendering abandons the material energy that one embraces the way a sleeper abandons his body, is the Supreme Lord upon whom one incessantly should meditate to be free from fear [see B.G. 16: 11-12, 1.9: 39 and the bhajan Sarvasva Tomāra Carana].'

He who watches over this universe in the beginning, the middle and the end; He who is the Lord of the unmanifested of the individual soul; He who, sending forth this universe, entered it along with the individual seer and [with him] producing bodies regulates them; He unto whom surrendering the one [illusioned] not being [re-]born forgets - as if asleep - the body that he cherishes; He by the power of whose pure spiritual status one is saved from a material birth, is the Supreme Personality upon whom one relentlessly should meditate to be freed from the fear [see B.G. 16: 11-12, 1.9: 39 and the bhajan Sarvasva Tomāra].' (Vedabase)

 

*: S'rīla S'rīdhara Svāmī elaborately analyzes this problem, of describing the inexpressible Truth in definable terms, by means of the traditional discipline of Sanskrit poetics that states that words have three kinds of expressive capacities, called s'abda-vrittis. These are the different ways a word refers to its meaning, distinguished as mukhya-vritti - literal meaning (divided in rudhi, conventional use and yoga, derived use as in etymology), lakshanā-vritti - metaphorical meaning, and the closely related gauna-vritti, a similar meaning; exemplified by: the word lion has the three expressive forms of: it is a lion - literal, he is a lion - metaphorical and he is like a lion - similar use. So in fact the question is how the Absolute would be covered taken literal, in metaphor and in simile.

**: According to S'rīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the twenty-seven verses of the prayers of the personified Vedas (Texts 14 - 41) represent the opinions of each of the twenty-eight major s'rutis. These chief Upanishads and other s'rutis are concerned with the various approaches of the Absolute Truth. See the purports pp 10.87 of this chapter of the paramparā for specific quotes.

***: The Kathha Upanishad (2.2.13) proclaims:

nityo nityānām cetanas' cetanānām
eko bahū
n
ām yo vidadhāti kāmān
tam pīthha-gam ye ’nupas'yanti dhīr
ās
teshām s'
āntih s'ās'vatī netareshām

“Among all the eternal, conscious beings, there is one who supplies the needs of everyone else. The wise souls who worship Him in His abode attain everlasting peace. Others cannot.”

*4: The paramparā writes here: "According to S'rīla Vis'vanātha Cakravartī Thhākura, the Upanshads teach that this created world is real but temporary."



 

 

 

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