SECTION CCX
"Markandeya continued, 'O Bharata, the Brahmana, thus interrogated by the
virtuous fowler, resumed again this discourse so pleasing to the mind.
The Brahmana said, 'O best of the cherishers of religion, it is said that
there are five great elements; do you describe to me in full the
properties of any one of the five.' The fowler replied, 'The earth,
water, fire, air and sky all have properties interlapping each other. I
shall describe them to thee. The earth, O Brahmana, has five qualities,
water four, fire three and the air and sky together three also. Sound,
touch, form, odour and taste--these five qualities belong to earth, and
sound, touch, form and taste, O austere Brahmana, have been described to
thee as the properties of water, and sound, touch and form are the three
properties of fire and air has two properties sound and touch, and sound
is the property of sky. And, O Brahmana, these fifteen properties
inherent in five elements, exist in all substances of which this universe
is composed. And they are not opposed to one another; they exist, O
Brahmana, in proper combination. When this whole universe is thrown into
a state of confusion, then every corporeal being in the fulness of time,
assumes another corpus. It arises and perishes in due order. And there
are present the five elementary substances of which all the mobile and
immobile world is composed. Whatever is perceptible by the senses, is
called vyakta (knowable or comprehensible) and whatever is beyond the
reach of the senses and can only be perceived by guesses, is known to be
avyakta (not vyakta). When a per on engages in the discipline of
self-examination, after having subdued the senses which have of their own
proper objective play in the external conditions of sound, form, &c, then
he beholds his own spirit pervading the universe, and the universe
reflected in itself. He who is wedded to his previous karma, although
skilled in the highest spiritual wisdom, is cognisant only of his soul's
objective existence, but the person whose soul is never affected by the
objective conditions around, is never subject to ills, owing to its
absorption in the elementary spirit of Brahma. When a person has overcome
the domination of illusion, his manly virtues consisting of the essence
of spiritual wisdom, turn to the spiritual enlightenment which illumines
the intelligence of sentient beings. Such a person is styled by the
omnipotent, intelligent Spirit as one who is without beginning and
without end, self-existent, immutable, incorporeal and incomparable.
This, O Brahmana, that you hast enquired of me is only the result of
self discipline. And this self-discipline can only be acquired by
subduing the senses. It cannot be otherwise, heaven and hell are both
dependent on our senses. When subdued, they lead to heaven; when indulged
in, they lead to perdition. This subjugation of the senses is the highest
means of attaining spiritual light. Our senses are at the (cause) root of
our spiritual advancement as also at the root of our spiritual
degradation. By indulging in them, a person undoubtedly contracts vices,
and by subduing these, he attains salvation. The self-restrained person
who acquires mastery over the six senses inherent in our nature, is never
tainted with sin, and consequently evil has no power over him. Man's
corporeal self has been compared to a chariot, his soul to a charioteer
and his senses to horses. A dexterous man drives about without confusion,
like a quiet charioteer with well-broken horses. That man is an excellent
driver who knows how to patiently wield the reins of those wild
horses,--the six senses inherent in our nature. When our senses become
ungovernable like horses on the high road, we must patiently rein them
in; for with patience, we are sure to get the better of them. When a
man's mind is overpowered by any one of these senses running wild, he
loses his reason, and becomes like a ship tossed by storms upon the high
ocean. Men are deceived by illusion in hoping to reap the fruits of those
six things, whose effects are studied by persons of spiritual insight,
who thereby reap the fruits of their clear perception."
--------------------END OF PARVA 3 : UPA-PARVA 210 ---------------------
