92. Chapter 92

श्रीवसिष्ठ उवाच । इत्युक्तवान्स भगवान्मया कमलसंभवः । रघूद्वह पुनः पृष्टो वाक्यमाक्षिप्य भूतपः ॥ १ ॥

śrīvasiṣṭha uvāca | ityuktavānsa bhagavānmayā kamalasaṃbhavaḥ | raghūdvaha punaḥ pṛṣṭo vākyamākṣipya bhūtapaḥ || 1 ||

Vasishtha added:—Now hear, O support of Raghu's race! what I next proposed to the lotus-born lord Brahma, after we had finished the preceding conversation.

त्वयैव भगवन्प्रोक्ताः शापमन्त्रादिशक्तयः । अमोघा इति ता एव कथं मोघाः कृताः पुनः ॥ २ ॥

tvayaiva bhagavanproktāḥ śāpamantrādiśaktayaḥ | amoghā iti tā eva kathaṃ moghāḥ kṛtāḥ punaḥ || 2 ||

I asked him saying said:—Lord! you have spoken before of the irrevocable power of curses and imprecations, how is it then that their power is said to be frustrated again by men.

शापेन मन्त्रवीर्येण मनोबुद्धीन्द्रियाण्यपि । सर्वाण्येव विमूढानि दृष्टानि किल जन्तुषु ॥ ३ ॥

śāpena mantravīryeṇa manobuddhīndriyāṇyapi | sarvāṇyeva vimūḍhāni dṛṣṭāni kila jantuṣu || 3 ||

We have witnessed the efficacy of imprecations, pronounced with potent Mantra—anathemas, to overpower the understanding and senses of living animals, and paralyze every member of the body.

यथैतौ पवनस्पन्दौ यथा स्नेहतिलौ यथा । अभिन्नौ तद्वदेवैतौ मनोदेहौ स एव तत् ॥ ४ ॥

yathaitau pavanaspandau yathā snehatilau yathā | abhinnau tadvadevaitau manodehau sa eva tat || 4 ||

Hence we see the mind and body are as intimately connected with each other, as motion with the air and fluidity with the sesamum seed:

अथ नास्तीह वा देहः केवलं चेतसैव सः । मुधानुभूयते स्वप्नमृगतृष्णाद्विचन्द्रवत् ॥ ५ ॥

atha nāstīha vā dehaḥ kevalaṃ cetasaiva saḥ | mudhānubhūyate svapnamṛgatṛṣṇādvicandravat || 5 ||

Or that there is no body except it but be a creation of the mind, like the fancied chimeras of visions and dreams, and as the false sight of water in the mirage, or the appearance of two moons in the sky.

एकनाशे द्वयोरेव नाशोऽत्राभ्युपपद्यते । अवश्यं भवितुं मनोनाशे देहपरिक्षयः ॥ ६ ॥

ekanāśe dvayoreva nāśo'trābhyupapadyate | avaśyaṃ bhavituṃ manonāśe dehaparikṣayaḥ || 6 ||

Or else why is it that the dissolution of the one, brings on the extinction of the other, such as the quietus of the mind is followed by the loss of bodily sensations?

मनः शापादिभिर्दोषैः कथं नाक्रम्यते प्रभो । कथमाक्रम्यते वापि ब्रूहि मे परमेश्वर ॥ ७ ॥

manaḥ śāpādibhirdoṣaiḥ kathaṃ nākramyate prabho | kathamākramyate vāpi brūhi me parameśvara || 7 ||

Tell me, my lord! how the mind is unaffected by the power of imprecations and menace, which subdue the senses and say whether they are both overpowered by these, being the one and same thing.

ब्रह्मोवाच । न तदस्तिजगत्कोशे शुभकर्मानुपातिना । यत्पौरुषेण शुद्धेन न समासाद्यते जनैः ॥ ८ ॥

brahmovāca | na tadastijagatkośe śubhakarmānupātinā | yatpauruṣeṇa śuddhena na samāsādyate janaiḥ || 8 ||

Brahma replied:—Know then, there is nothing in the treasure-house of this world, which is unattainable by man by means of his exertions in the right way.

आब्रह्म स्थावरान्तं च सर्वदा सर्वजातयः । सर्व एव जगत्यस्मिन्द्विशरीराः शरीरिणः ॥ ९ ॥

ābrahma sthāvarāntaṃ ca sarvadā sarvajātayaḥ | sarva eva jagatyasmindviśarīrāḥ śarīriṇaḥ || 9 ||

And that all species of animal being, from the state of the highest Brahma, down to minute insects, are bicorpori or endowed with two bodies the mental and corporeal.

एकं मनःशरीरं तु क्षिप्रकारि सदा चलम् । अकिंचित्करमन्यत्तु शरीरं मांसनिर्मितम् ॥ १० ॥

ekaṃ manaḥśarīraṃ tu kṣiprakāri sadā calam | akiṃcitkaramanyattu śarīraṃ māṃsanirmitam || 10 ||

The one, that is the mental body, is ever active and always fickle;and the other is the worthless body of flesh, which is dull and inactive.

तत्र मांसमयः कायः सर्वस्यैव च संगतः । सर्वैराक्रम्यते शापैस्तथा विद्यादिसंचयैः ॥ ११ ॥

tatra māṃsamayaḥ kāyaḥ sarvasyaiva ca saṃgataḥ | sarvairākramyate śāpaistathā vidyādisaṃcayaiḥ || 11 ||

Now the fleshy part of the body which accompanies all animal beings, is overpowered by the influence of curses and charms, practised by the art of incantation—abhichara Vidya.

मूकप्रायो ह्यशक्तोऽसौ दीनः क्षणविनश्वरः । पद्मपत्राम्बुचपलो दैवादिविवशस्थितिः ॥ १२ ॥

mūkaprāyo hyaśakto'sau dīnaḥ kṣaṇavinaśvaraḥ | padmapatrāmbucapalo daivādivivaśasthitiḥ || 12 ||

The influence of certain supernatural powers stupifies a man, and makes him dull and dumb. Sometimes one is about to droop down insensible, as spell bound persons are deprived of their external senses, and fall down like a drop of water from a lotus-leaf.

मनोनाम द्वितीयोऽयं कायः कायवतामिह । स आयत्तोऽपि नायत्तो भूतानां भुवनत्रये ॥ १३ ॥

manonāma dvitīyo'yaṃ kāyaḥ kāyavatāmiha | sa āyatto'pi nāyatto bhūtānāṃ bhuvanatraye || 13 ||

The mind which is the other part of the body of embodied beings, is ever free and unsubdued; though it is always under the subjection of all living beings in the three worlds.

पौरुषं स्वमवष्टभ्य धैर्यमालम्ब्य शाश्वतम् । यदि तिष्ठत्यगम्योऽसौ दुःखानां तदनिन्दितः ॥ १४ ॥

pauruṣaṃ svamavaṣṭabhya dhairyamālambya śāśvatam | yadi tiṣṭhatyagamyo'sau duḥkhānāṃ tadaninditaḥ || 14 ||

He who can control his mind by continued patience on one hand, and by incessant vigilance on the other, is the man of an unimpeachable character, and unapproachable by calamity.

यथा यथासौ यतते मनोदेहो हि देहिनाम् । तथा तथासौ भवति स्वनिश्चयफलैकभाक् ॥ १५ ॥

yathā yathāsau yatate manodeho hi dehinām | tathā tathāsau bhavati svaniścayaphalaikabhāk || 15 ||

The more a man employs the mental part of his body to its proper employment, the more successful he is in obtaining the object he has in view.

सफलो मांसदेहस्य न कश्चित्पौरुषक्रमः । मनोदेहस्य सफलं सर्वमेव स्वचेष्टितम् ॥ १६ ॥

saphalo māṃsadehasya na kaścitpauruṣakramaḥ | manodehasya saphalaṃ sarvameva svaceṣṭitam || 16 ||

Mere bodily energy is never successful in any undertaking (any more than brute force); it is intellectual activity only, that is sure of success in all attempts.

पवित्रमनुसंधानं चेतः स्मरति सर्वदा । निष्फलास्तत्र शापाद्याः शिलायामिव सायकाः ॥ १७ ॥

pavitramanusaṃdhānaṃ cetaḥ smarati sarvadā | niṣphalāstatra śāpādyāḥ śilāyāmiva sāyakāḥ || 17 ||

The attention of the mind being directed to objects unconnected with matter, it is as vain an effort to hurt it (an immaterial object); as it is to pierce a stone with an arrow.

पतत्वम्भसि वह्नौ वा कर्दमे वा शरीरकम् । मनो यदनुसंधत्ते तदेवाप्नोति तत्क्षणात् ॥ १८ ॥

patatvambhasi vahnau vā kardame vā śarīrakam | mano yadanusaṃdhatte tadevāpnoti tatkṣaṇāt || 18 ||

Drown the body under the water or dip it in the mud, burn it in the fire or fling it aloft in air, yet the mind turneth not from its pole; and he who is true to his purpose, is sure of success.

पुरुषातिशयः सर्वः सर्वभावोपमर्दने । ददात्यविघ्नेन फलं मनो हि मनसो मुने ॥ १९ ॥

puruṣātiśayaḥ sarvaḥ sarvabhāvopamardane | dadātyavighnena phalaṃ mano hi manaso mune || 19 ||

Intensity of bodily efforts overcomes all impediments, but it is mental exertion alone which leads to ultimate success in every undertaking.

पौरुषेण बलेनान्तश्चित्तं कृत्वा प्रियामयम् । कृत्रिमेन्द्रेण दुःखार्तिर्न दृष्टा सा मनागपि ॥ २० ॥

pauruṣeṇa balenāntaścittaṃ kṛtvā priyāmayam | kṛtrimendreṇa duḥkhārtirna dṛṣṭā sā manāgapi || 20 ||

Mark here in the instance of the fictitious Indra, who employed all his thoughts to the assimilation of himself into the very image of his beloved, by drowning all his bodily pains in the pleasure of her remembrance.

पौरुषेण मनः कृत्वा नीरागं विगतज्वरम् । माण्डव्येन जिताः क्लेशाः शूलप्रान्तेऽपितिष्ठता ॥ २१ ॥

pauruṣeṇa manaḥ kṛtvā nīrāgaṃ vigatajvaram | māṇḍavyena jitāḥ kleśāḥ śūlaprānte'pitiṣṭhatā || 21 ||

Think of the manly fortitude of Mandavya, who made his mind as callous as marble, when he was put to the punishment of the guillotine, and was insensible of his suffering.

अन्धकूपस्थितेनापि मानसैर्यज्ञसंचयैः । ऋषिणा दीर्घतपसा संप्राप्तं वैबुधं पदम् ॥ २२ ॥

andhakūpasthitenāpi mānasairyajñasaṃcayaiḥ | ṛṣiṇā dīrghatapasā saṃprāptaṃ vaibudhaṃ padam || 22 ||

Think of the sage who fell in the dark pit, while his mind was employed in some sacrificial rite, and was taken up to heaven in reward of the merit of his mental sacrifice.

इन्दुपुत्रैर्नरैरेव पुरुषाध्यवसायतः । ध्यानेन ब्रह्मता प्राप्ता सा मयापि न खण्ड्यते ॥ २३ ॥

induputrairnaraireva puruṣādhyavasāyataḥ | dhyānena brahmatā prāptā sā mayāpi na khaṇḍyate || 23 ||

Remember also how the sons of Indu obtained their Brahmahood, by virtue of their persevering devotion, and which even I have not the power to withhold.

अन्येऽपि सावधाना ये धीराः सुरमहर्षयः । चित्तात्स्वमनुसंधानं न त्यजन्ति मनागपि ॥ २४ ॥

anye'pi sāvadhānā ye dhīrāḥ suramaharṣayaḥ | cittātsvamanusaṃdhānaṃ na tyajanti manāgapi || 24 ||

There have been also many such sages and master-minds among men and gods, who never laid aside their mental energies, whereby they were crowned with success in their proper pursuits.

आधयो व्याधयश्चैव शापाः पापदृशस्तथा । न खण्डयन्ति तच्चित्तं पद्मघाताः शिलामिव ॥ २५ ॥

ādhayo vyādhayaścaiva śāpāḥ pāpadṛśastathā | na khaṇḍayanti taccittaṃ padmaghātāḥ śilāmiva || 25 ||

No pain or sickness, no fulmination nor threat, no malicious beast or evil spirit, can break down the resolute mind, any more than the striking of a lean lotus-leaf, can split the breast of a hard stone.

ये चापि खण्डिताः केचिच्छापाद्यैराधिसायकैः । स्वविवेकाक्षमं तेषां मनो मन्ये विपौरुषम् ॥ २६ ॥

ye cāpi khaṇḍitāḥ kecicchāpādyairādhisāyakaiḥ | svavivekākṣamaṃ teṣāṃ mano manye vipauruṣam || 26 ||

Those that you say to have been discomfited by tribulations and persecutions, I understand them as too infirm in their faiths, and very weak both in their minds and manliness.

न कदाचन संसारे सावधानमना मनाक् । स्वप्नेऽपि कश्चिदृश्ये वा दोषजालैः खिलीकृतः ॥ २७ ॥

na kadācana saṃsāre sāvadhānamanā manāk | svapne'pi kaścidṛśye vā doṣajālaiḥ khilīkṛtaḥ || 27 ||

Men with heedful minds, have never been entrapped in the snare of errors in this perilous world; and they have never been visited by the demon of despair, in their sleeping or waking states.

मनसैव मनस्तस्मात्पौरुषेण पुमानिह । स्वकमेव स्वकेनैव योजयेत्पावने पथि ॥ २८ ॥

manasaiva manastasmātpauruṣeṇa pumāniha | svakameva svakenaiva yojayetpāvane pathi || 28 ||

Therefore let a man employ himself to the exercise of his own manly powers, and engage his mind and his mental energy to noble pursuits, in the paths of truth and holiness.

प्रतिभातं यदेवास्य यथाभूतं भवत्यलम् । क्षणादेव मनः पीनं बालवेतालवन्मुने ॥ २९ ॥

pratibhātaṃ yadevāsya yathābhūtaṃ bhavatyalam | kṣaṇādeva manaḥ pīnaṃ bālavetālavanmune || 29 ||

The enlightened mind forgets its former darkness, and sees its objects in their true light; and the thought that grows big in the mind, swallows it up at last, as the fancy of a ghost lays hold of the mind of a child.

प्रतिभासस्यानुपदं प्राक्तनीं स्थितिमुज्झति । कुलालकर्मानुपदं घटो मृत्पिण्डतामिव ॥ ३० ॥

pratibhāsasyānupadaṃ prāktanīṃ sthitimujjhati | kulālakarmānupadaṃ ghaṭo mṛtpiṇḍatāmiva || 30 ||

The new reflection effaces the prior impression from the tablet of the mind, as an earthen pot turning on the potter's wheel, no more thinks of its nature of dirty clay.

प्रतिभासार्थतामेति क्षणादेव मनो मुने । स्पन्दमात्रात्मकं वारि यथा तुङ्गतरङ्गताम् ॥ ३१ ॥

pratibhāsārthatāmeti kṣaṇādeva mano mune | spandamātrātmakaṃ vāri yathā tuṅgataraṅgatām || 31 ||

The mind, O muni! is transmuted in a moment to its new model; as the inflated or aerated water rises high into waves and ebullitions, glaring with reflections of sun-light.

अनुसंधानमात्रेण सूर्यबिम्बेऽपि यामिनीम् । मनः पश्यत्यशुद्धाक्षश्चन्द्रबिम्बे द्वितामिव ॥ ३२ ॥

anusaṃdhānamātreṇa sūryabimbe'pi yāminīm | manaḥ paśyatyaśuddhākṣaścandrabimbe dvitāmiva || 32 ||

The mind that is averse to right investigation, sees like the purblind, every thing in darkness even in broad day light; and observes by deception two moons for one in the moonshine.

यत्पश्यति तदेवाशु फलीभूतमिदं मनः । सह हर्षविषादाभ्यां भुङ्क्ते तस्मात्तदेव तत् ॥ ३३ ॥

yatpaśyati tadevāśu phalībhūtamidaṃ manaḥ | saha harṣaviṣādābhyāṃ bhuṅkte tasmāttadeva tat || 33 ||

Whatever the mind has in view, it succeeds soon in the accomplishment of the same. And as it does aught of good or evil, it reaps the reward of the same, in the gladness or bitterness of his soul.

प्रतिभानुपदं चेतश्चन्द्रेऽप्यग्निशिखाशतम् । दृष्ट्वा दाहमवाप्नोति दग्धं च परितप्यते ॥ ३४ ॥

pratibhānupadaṃ cetaścandre'pyagniśikhāśatam | dṛṣṭvā dāhamavāpnoti dagdhaṃ ca paritapyate || 34 ||

A wrong reflector reflects a thing in a wrong light, as a distracted lover sees a flame in the moonbeams, which makes him burn and consume in his state of distraction.

प्रतिभानुपदं चेतः क्षारेऽपि हि रसायनम् । दृष्ट्वा पीत्वा परां तृप्तिं याति वल्गति नृत्यति ॥ ३५ ॥

pratibhānupadaṃ cetaḥ kṣāre'pi hi rasāyanam | dṛṣṭvā pītvā parāṃ tṛptiṃ yāti valgati nṛtyati || 35 ||

It is the conception of the mind, that makes the salt seem sweet to taste, by its giving a flavour to the salted food for our zest and delight.

प्रतिभानुपदं चेतो व्योमन्यपि महावनम् । दृष्ट्वा लुनाति लूत्वा च पुनरारोपयत्यलम् ॥ ३६ ॥

pratibhānupadaṃ ceto vyomanyapi mahāvanam | dṛṣṭvā lunāti lūtvā ca punarāropayatyalam || 36 ||

It is our conception, that makes us see a forest in the fog, or a tower in the clouds; appearing to the sight of the observer to be rising and falling by turns.

इत्थं यदेव परिकल्पयतीन्द्रजालं क्षिप्रं तदेव परिपश्यति तात चेतः । नासज्जगन्न च सदित्यवगम्य नूनं लूनां दृशं विविधभेदवतीं जहीहि ॥ ३७ ॥

itthaṃ yadeva parikalpayatīndrajālaṃ kṣipraṃ tadeva paripaśyati tāta cetaḥ | nāsajjaganna ca sadityavagamya nūnaṃ lūnāṃ dṛśaṃ vividhabhedavatīṃ jahīhi || 37 ||

In this manner whatever shape the imagination gives to a thing, it appears in the same visionary form before the sight of the mind; therefore knowing this world of your imagination, as neither a reality nor unreality, forbear to view it and its various shapes and colours, as they appear to view.