[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
defect?
O Lord, the Vedas, Thy words are the highest source of illumination for the manes, the gods
and men, regarding this unseen such as Moksha or Svarga, as well as the means and ends.
The idea of distinction as good and bad, right and wrong is derived from Thy own command
in the form of Vedas but not by one s fancy. It is not innate. The same scriptures undermine all ideas
of difference. If that distinction is denied or refuted by the same Vedas, I am puzzled and
confounded. Therefore, kindly enlighten me on this point.
The Lord said: In order to lead them to final happiness three Yogas or ways have been
taught by Me. They are Jnana (knowledge), Karma (work) and Bhakti (devotion). There is no other
means whatsoever of attaining Moksha.
81
TEACHINGS
Jnana Yoga is for those who are disgusted with the performance of Karma and have
renounced it. Karma Yoga is for those who are not disgusted with the performance of Karma but are
attached to it and who desire for its fruits.
He who has a faith in My actions etc., by some good fortune, and at the same time, is neither
disgusted with, nor intensely attached to work, is fit for Bhakti Yoga.
One should perform work so long as he does not feel disgust for it or as long as he is not
drawn by love for Me or until he has developed faith and veneration for listening to stories about Me
and telling them to others etc.
O Uddhava, he who, following the Dharmas or duties of his own Varna and Ashrama, and
performs sacrifices without any desire for fruits, does not go to heaven or hell, provided he does no
prohibited act.
He who practises the duties of his own Varna and Ashrama, observes piety and does nothing
wrong or prohibited action, attains pure knowledge and develops devotion to Me, remaining in this
very world.
Even those in heaven and hell desire this world because this life is conducive for developing
knowledge and devotion whereas those two regions or the bodies with which the residents of
heaven and hell are endowed are not useful for that purpose.
The wise man does not wish for heaven or hell. He does not even wish for human existence,
for connection with the body causes selfish distractions and delusion. He goes astray through
attachment to the body.
Being aware of this fact, he should be vigilant and strive for liberation before the approach
of death, knowing that the body although it is perishable, can help him in the attainment of his goal
or the highest good. Seeing that the tree on which it built its nest is being cut by cruel men, the bird
abandons its attachment to the nest and tree and becomes happy by leaving its home. Even so, the
wise man who observes and understands that his span of life is being cut short by the rotation of
days and nights, shudders with fear and realises the Paramatman or the Supreme Self by
abandoning all attachments. Then he is free from all activities. Then he gives up all activities and
thereby attains perfect freedom from Prakriti and remains peacefully.
Tile human body which is the primal source of all attainments, is a strong boat, so hard to
secure, yet within easy reach, so cheap when once attained. The preceptor is at the helm of this boat
and I am the favourable wind that drives it. The man who does not strive to cross the ocean of births
with such a boat and with such means as these is truly killing himself.
When the Yogi feels disgust for Karma and becomes dispassionate he should keep the mind
in a state of concentration by the practice of meditation on the Atman with his sense under control.
When in the act of concentration the mind begins immediately to wander and is unsteady, he should
be on the alert and bring it back under his control gradually with unremitting efforts after allowing it
to go in its wandering course a little.
82
LORD KRISHNA, HIS LILAS AND TEACHINGS
Do not allow the mind to go its own way altogether. Keep your Pranas and senses under
control and bring the mind under your control with the help of the intellect strengthened by Sattva.
This sort of control of the mind is the highest Yoga, just like the control of an unruly horse.
The horseman slackens the reins at first but never lets go the reins. Similarly the Yogi allows the
mind to wander a little to have its own way for a while, keeps a vigilant watch over its movements
and then brings it gradually under his control.
Reflect on the origin and dissolution of all objects in the order of creation and in the reverse
order according to the Sankhya method. Do this till the mind become calm.
When the man becomes disgusted with the world and is endowed with dispassion, when he
is able to reflect on what his preceptor has taught him, his mind abandons its evil disposition by
virtue of the repeated exercises in meditation.
The mind should be made to think of the only worthy thing Paramatman, by means of Yama
and other practices of Yoga or by a correct and thorough examination of the two categories and the
knowledge gained thereby (reflecting on the true significance of Tat Tvam Asi Mahavakya) but
by no other means.
If the Yogi does some reproachable and improper act inadvertently, he should burn the sin
by Yoga alone but not by any other means i.e., not by expiatory rites. [Japa of Mantra or taking
Lord s name, meditation on the Lord or Brahman, Kirtan, Brahma Chintan or Brahma Vichara will
burn the sin of impurity.]
Adherence to the duties of one s own sphere is said to be virtue (right). By making this
distinction between merit and defect a restriction is placed on acts that are by nature impure for the
purpose of enabling people to remove attachment to them.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]