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

Válmiki

Yoga-Vāsistha, Book 6: Nirvāna-Prakarana (On ultimate extinction). Chapter 1 - Description of the Evening and Breaking of the Assembly

Vālmīki says- You have heard the relation of the subject of Stoicism or composure of the soul; attend now to that of Nirvāna, which will teach you how to attain the final liberation of yourselves.

As the Chief of Sages was saying his magniloquent speech in this manner, and the princes remained mute with their intense attention to the ravishing oration of the Sage.

The assembled chiefs remained there as silent and motionless portraits, and forgot their devotions and duties, by being impressed in their minds with the sense a words of the Sage's speech.

The assemblage of Saints, was reverently pondering upon the deep sense of the words of the Sage, with their curled brows and signs of their index fingers, ¹.

The ladies in the Seraglio were lost in wonder, and turned upward their wondering eyes, resembling a cluster of black bees, sucking intently the nectąrious honey of the new blown flowers ².

The glorious sun sank down in the sky, at the fourth or last watch of the day; and was shorn of his radiant beams as he was setting in the west; ³.

The winds blew softly at the eve of the day, as if to listen to the sermon of the Sage, and wafted about the sweets of his moving speech, like the fragrance of the gently shaking mandāra flowers.

All other sounds were drowned in the deep meditation of the audience, as when the humming of the humble bees, is pushed in their repose, amidst the cell of blooming flowers at night.

The bubbling waters of the pearly lakes, sparkled unmoved amidst their embordered beds; as if they were intently attentive to listen to the words of the Sage, which dropped as strings of pearls from his flippant lips.

The pencil of the declining say penetrating the windows of the palace, bespoke the halting of the departing sun, under the cooling shade of the royal canopy, after his weary journey all along the livelong day.

The pearly rays ⁴ of the parting day, being covered by the dust and mist of the dusk, it seemed to be besmeared as the body of a dervish with dust and ashes; and had gained its coolness after its journey under the burning sun. ⁵

The chiefs of men with their heads and hands decorated with flowers, were so regaled with the sweet speech of the Sage, that they altogether remained enrapt in their senses and minds.

The ladies listening to the sage, were now roused by the cries of their infants and the birds in their cages, to get up from the place and to give them their suck and food. ⁶

Now the dust flung by the pinions of fluttering bees, covered the petals of the night blooming kumuda flowers; and the flapping couries were now at rest, with the tremulous eye-lids of the princes.

The rays of the sun, fearing to be way laid by the dark night shade, which had now got loose from the dark mountain caves, fled through the windows to the inner apartment of the palace; ⁷.

The time watches of the royal palace, knowing it to be passed the fourth watch of the day, sounded aloud their drums and trumpets, mingled with the sound of conch-shells, loudly resounding on all sides.

The high-sounding speech of the sage, was drowned under the loud peal of the jarring instruments; as the sonorous sound of the peacock, is hushed under the uproar of roaring clouds.

The birds in the cages, began to quake and shake their wings with fear; and the leaves and branches of the lofty palm trees, shook in the gardens, as by a tremendous earthquake.

The babies sleeping on the breasts of their nurses, trembled with fear at the loud uproar; and they cried as the smoking clouds of the rainy season, resounding between the two mountain craigs resembling the breasts. ⁸

This noise made the helmets of the chieftains, shed the dust of their decorating flowers all about the hall; as the moving waves of the lake, sprinkle the drops of water upon the land. ⁹

Thus the palace of Dasratha being full of trepidation at the close of the day, regained its quiet at the gradual fall of the fanfare of sounding conch-shells, and the hubbub of drum beatings at the advance of night.

The Sage put a stop to his present discourse, and addressed Rāma then sitting in the midst of the assembly, in a sweet voice and graceful language. ¹⁰

Vasistha said: O Rāghava! I have already spread before you the long net of my verbiology; do you entrap your flying mind in the same way, and bring it to your bosom and under your subjection.

Take the purport of my discourse in such manner, as to leave out what is unintelligible, and lay hold on its substance; as the swan separates and sucks the milk which is mixed with water.

Ponder upon it repeatedly, and consider it well in your mind, and go on in this way to conduct yourself in life ¹¹.

By going on in this manner, you are sure to evade all dangers; or else you must fall ere long like the heavy elephant, in some ,pitfall of the Vindhya mountain. ¹²

If you do not receive my words with attention, and act accordingly, you are sure to fall into the pit like a blind man left to go alone in the dark; and to be blown away like a lighted lamp, exposed in the open air.

In order to derive the benefit of my lectures, you must continue in the discharge of your usual duties with indifference, and knowing insouciance to be the right dictum of the fastras be you regardless of everything besides.

Now I bid you, O mighty monarch, and ye, princes and chiefs, and all ye present in this place, to get up and attend to the evening services of your daily ritual. (Āhnika).

Let all attend to this much at present, as the day is drawing to its close; and we shall consider the rest, on our meeting in the next morning.

Vālmīki related- After the Sage had said so far, the assembly broke, off; and the assembled chiefs and princes rose up, with their faces blooming as the full blown lotuses at the end of the day.

The Chiefs having paid their obeisance to the monarch, and made their salutation to Rāma, trley did their reverence to the sage, and departed to their respective abodes.

Vasistha rose up from his seat with the royal sage Viśvāmitra, and they were saluted on their departure by the aerial spirits, who had attended the audience all along.

The Sages were followed closely, by the king and chieftains a long way, and they parted after accosting them, according to their rank and dignity on the way.

The celestials took their leaves of the sage, and betook to their heavenward Journey; and the munis repaired to their hermitages in the woods, when some of the saints turned about the palace, like bees flying in about the lotus bush. ¹³

The king having offered handfuls of fresh flowers at the feet of Vasistha, entered the royal seraglio with his royal consorts.

But Rāma and his brother princes, kept company with the sage to his hermitage; and having prostrated themselves at his feet, they returned to their princely mansions.

The hearers of the sage having arrived at their houses made their ablutions; then worshipped the gods, and offered their offerings to the manes of their ancestors. They then treated their guests and gave alms to beggars.

Then they took their meals with their Brāhmana guests, and members of the family; and their dependants and servants were fed one after the other, according to the rules and customs of their order and caste.

After the sun had set down, with the diurnal duties of men, there rose the bright moon on high, with impositions of many nocturnal duties on mankind.

At last the great king and the princes, and chiefs of men and he munis, together with the sages and saints, and all other terrestial beings, betook themselves to their several beds, with silken coverlets and bed cloths of various kinds.

They lay thinking intensely in themselves, on the admonitions of the sage Vasistha: on the mode of their passing over the boisterous gulf of this world, by means of this spiritual knowledge.

Then they slept and lay with their closed eye­lids, for one watch of the night only; and then opened their eyes, like the opening buds of lotuses, to see the light of the day.

Rāma and his brother princes, passed full three watches of the night in waking; and pondering over the deep sense of the lectures, of their spiritual guide-Vasistha. ¹⁴

They slept only one and half watch of the night, with their closed eye-lids; and then they shook off the dullness of their sleep, after driving the lassitude of their bodies by a short nap.

Now the minds of these, being full of good will, raised by the rising reason in their souls, and knowledge of truth; they felt the crescent of spiritual light lightening their dark bosoms, as the sectant of the moon, illumes the gloom of night; which afterwards disappeared at the approach of daylight, and the gathering broils of day-time.

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