SECTION CCX
"Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O sire, of that high yoga by which, O
Bharata, I may obtain Emancipation, O foremost of speakers, I desire to
know everything about that yoga truly.'
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old narrative of the
discourse between a preceptor and his disciple on the subject of
Emancipation. There was a regenerate preceptor who was the foremost of
Rishis. He looked like a mass of splendour. Possessed of a high soul, he
was firm in truth and a complete master of his senses. Once on a time, a
disciple of great intelligence and close attention, desirous of obtaining
what was for his highest good, touched the preceptor's feet, and standing
with joined hands before him, said, If, O illustrious one, thou hast been
gratified with the worship I have offered thee, it behoveth thee to solve
a great doubt of mine. Whence am I and whence art thou? Tell me this
fully. Tell me also what is the final cause. Why also, O best of
regenerate ones, when the material cause in all beings is the same, their
origin and destruction happen in such dissimilar ways? It beseems thee, O
thou of great learning, also to explain the object of the declarations in
the Vedas (about difference of rites in respect of different classes of
men), the meaning of the injunctions of the Smritis and of those
injunctions which apply to all cases of men.'[715]
"The preceptor said, 'Listen, O disciple, O thou of great wisdom! This
that thou hast asked me is undisclosed in the very Vedas and is the
highest subject for thought or discourse. It is called Adhyatma and is
the most valuable of all branches of learning and of all sacred
institutes. Vasudeva is the Supreme (cause) of the universe. He is the
origin of the Vedas (viz., Om). He is Truth, Knowledge, Sacrifice,
Renunciation, Self-restraint, and Righteousness. Persons conversant with
the Vedas know Him as All-pervading, Eternal, Omnipresent, the Creator
and the Destroyer, the Unmanifest, Brahma, Immutable. Hear now the story
of Him who took his birth in Vrishni's race. A Brahmana should hear of
the greatness of that God of gods, viz., Him called Vishnu of
immeasurable energy, from the lips of Brahmanas. A person of the royal
order should hear it from persons of that order. One who is a Vaisya
should hear it from Vaisyas, and a high-souled Sudra should hear it from
Sudras. Thou deservest to hear it. Listen now to the auspicious account
of Krishna, that narrative which is the foremost of all narratives.
Vasudeva is the wheel of Time, without beginning and without end.
Existence and Non-existence are the attributes by which His real nature
is known. The universe revolves like a wheel depending upon that Lord of
all beings. O best of men, Kesava, that foremost of all beings, is said
to be that which is Indestructible, that which is Unmanifest, that which
is Immortal, Brahma, and Immutable. The highest of the high, and without
change or deterioration himself, he created the Pitris, the gods, the
Rishis, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Nagas, the Asuras, and human
beings. It is He who also created the Vedas and the eternal duties and
customs of men. Having reduced everything into non-existence, he once
more, in the beginning of a (new) yuga, creates Prakriti (primordial
matter). As the diverse phenomena of the several seasons appear one after
another according to the season that comes, after the like manner
creatures start forth into existence at the beginning of every
(celestial) yuga. Corresponding with those creatures that start into life
is the knowledge of rules and duties that have for their object the
regulation of the world's course.[716] At the end of every (celestial)
yuga (when universal destruction sets in) the Vedas and all other
scriptures disappear (like the rest). In consequence of the grace of the
Self-born, the great Rishis, through their penances, first re-acquire the
lost Vedas and the scriptures. The Self-born (Brahman) first acquired the
Vedas. Their branches called the Angas were first acquired by (the
celestial preceptor) Vrihaspati. Bhrigu's son (Sukra) first acquired the
science of morality that is so beneficial for the universe. The science
of music was acquired by Narada; that of arms by Bharadwaja; the history
of the celestial Rishis by Gargya: that of medicine by the
dark-complexioned son of Atri. Diverse other Rishis, whose names are
connected therewith, promulgated diverse other sciences such as Nyaya,
Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Patanjala, etc. Let that Brahma which those Rishis
have indicated by arguments drawn from reason, by means of the Vedas, and
by inferences drawn from the direct evidence of the senses, be adored.,
Neither the gods nor the Rishis were (at first) able to apprehend Brahma
which is without beginning and which is the highest of the high. Only the
divine creator of all things, viz., the puissant Narayana, had knowledge
of Brahma. From Narayana, the Rishis, the foremost ones among the deities
and the Asuras, and the royal sages of old, derived the knowledge of that
highest remedy of the cure of sorrow. When primordial matter produces
existences through the action of the primal energy, the universe with all
its potencies begins to flow from it. From one lighted lamp thousands of
other lamps are capable of being lighted. After the same manner,
primordial matter produces thousands of existent things. In consequence,
again, of its infinity primordial matter is never exhausted. From the
Unmanifest flows the Understanding determined by acts. The Understanding
produces Consciousness. From Consciousness proceeds Space. From Space
proceeds Wind. From the Wind proceeds Heat. From Heat proceeds Water, and
from Water is produced the Earth. These eight constitute primordial
Prakriti. The universe rests on them. From those Eight have originated
the five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action, the five objects
of the (first five) organs, and the one, viz., the Mind, forming the
sixteenth, which is the result of their modification. The ear, the skin,
the two eyes, the tongue, and the nose are the five organs of knowledge.
The two feet, the lower duct, the organ of generation, the two arms, and
speech, are the five organs of action. Sound, touch, form, taste, and
smell are the five objects of the senses, covering all the things. The
Mind dwells upon all the senses and their objects. In the perception of
taste, it is the Mind that becomes the tongue, and in speech it is the
Mind that becomes words. Endued with the different senses, it is the Mind
that becomes all the objects that exist in its apprehension. These
sixteen, existing in their respective forms, should be known as deities.
These worship Him who creates all knowledge and dwells within the body.
Taste is the attribute of water; scent is the attribute of earth; hearing
is the attribute of space; vision is the attribute of fire or light; and
touch should be known as the attribute of the wind. This is the case with
all creatures at all times. The Mind, it has been said, is the attribute
of existence. Existence springs from the Unmanifest (of Prakriti) which,
every intelligent person should know, rests in That which is the Soul of
all existent beings. These existences, resting upon the supreme Divinity
that is above Prakriti and that is without any inclination for action,
uphold the entire universe of mobiles and immobiles. This sacred edifice
of nine doors[717] is endued with all these existences. That which is
high above them, viz., the Soul, dwells within it, pervading it all over.
For this reason, it is called Purusha. The Soul is without decay and not
subject to death. It has knowledge of what is manifest and what is
unmanifest. It is again all-pervading, possessed of attributes, subtile,
and the refuge of all existences and attributes. As a lamp discovers all
objects great or small (irrespective of its own size), after the same
manner the Soul dwells in all creatures as the principle of knowledge
(regardless of the attributes or accidents of those creatures). Urging
the ear to hear what it hears, it is the Soul that hears. Similarly,
employing the eye, it is the Soul that sees. This body furnishes the
means by which the Soul derives knowledge. The bodily organs are not the
doers, but it is the Soul that is the doer of all acts. There is fire in
wood, but it can never be seen by cutting open a piece of wood. After the
same manner, the Soul dwells within the body, but it can never be seen by
dissecting the body. The fire that dwells in wood may be seen by
employing proper means, viz., rubbing the wood with another piece of
wood. After the same manner, the Soul which dwells within the body may be
seen by employing proper means, viz., yoga. Water must exist in rivers.
Rays of light are always attached to the sun. After the same manner, the
Soul has a body. This connection does not cease because of the constant
succession of bodies that the Soul has to enter.[718] In a dream, the
Soul, endued with the fivefold senses, leaves the body and roves over
wide areas. After the same manner, when death ensues, the Soul (with the
senses in their subtile forms) passes out of one body for entering
another. The Soul is bound by its own former acts. Bound by its own acts
done in one state of existence, it attains to another state. Indeed, it
is led from one into another body by its own acts which are very powerful
in respect of their consequences. How the owner of a human body, leaving
off his body, enters another, and then again into another, how, indeed,
the entire range of beings is the result of their respective acts (of
past and present lives), I will presently tell you.'"
