rule




 

Canto 11

Pańca Tattva




 
Chapter 3: Liberation from Māyā and Karma Knowing and Worshiping the Lord

(1) The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'My lords, please tell us about the illusory potency [or māyā, see also 11.2: 48] of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, we would like to understand that what bewilders even the great mystics. (2) We enjoy the nectar of your talks about Lord Hari, but we are not yet satisfied by that antidote against the pain a mortal experiences being tormented by the misery of samsāra.'

(3) S'rī Antarīksha said: 'The Soul of All Living Beings evolved all creatures high and low, by means of the elements of the greater creation [see B.G. 13: 22 & 14: 18], oh mighty armed one, so that they, the Original Person's own [parts and parcels], could be successful with [the choice between] the sense objects and the true self, the Soul [see also 10.87: 2]. (4) Having entered the living beings that thus were created with the help of the five gross elements and having divided Himself as the one [witness] to the ten [senses of perception and action], He was pleased to engage them [in a life] with the basic qualities of nature. (5) The living being, which by the Supreme Soul was given a life with the basic qualities, enjoys those modes and consequently takes this created body for the true self - as also himself for the master, and thus becomes entangled [see also B.G. 15: 8, compare 11.2: 37]. (6) The proprietor of the body is, because of the sense-motivated actions, driven by desires and engaged in different karmic - fruitive - activities from which he reaps the different fruits. And thus he moves through this world in both a state of happiness and the contrary thereof [see B.G. 2: 62]. (7) This way by his karma reaching destinations that bring him a lot of things not so good, the living being till the end of time helplessly experiences birth and death. (8) When the dissolution of the material elements is at hand, [the Lord in the form of] Time, which has no beginning or an end, withdraws the manifest universe, consisting of the gross objects and subtle modes, back into the not manifest [see also 3.29: 40-45, 3.26: 51]. (9) There will be a terrible drought on earth that lasts for a hundred years, so that the three worlds during that period will be seriously scorched by the accumulated heat of the sun. (10) Beginning from the lower regions [Pātāla], the fire, with its flames fanned by the winds shooting upwards from the mouth of Sankarshana, will burn all directions. (11) Great masses of samvartaka ['end time'] clouds will rain for a hundred years, with torrents as long as elephant trunks, so that everything will be inundated. (12) Oh King, the universe will thereupon, like a fire running out of fuel, be abandoned by the Personality of the Universal Form, as He [in the form of Brahmā] enters the subtle reality of the unseen [pradhāna, see also B.G. 8: 19, 3.32: 12-15]. (13) The earth, by the wind deprived of its aroma, changes [back] into water and the water by the same process [of the wind] being deprived of its taste, becomes fire [again, see *]. (14) Fire, by darkness deprived of its [quality, its] form, turns into air and the air, losing its [quality of] touch, dissolves into the ether. When the sky [the ether], by the Supreme Soul of Time is deprived of its quality [of sound], it merges into the ego [of not-knowing]. (15) The senses, the mind and the intelligence, oh King, merge together with the gods [representing the emotions] into the ego-element, and the I-awareness merges together with all its guna-qualities into the Supreme Self [see also 3.6 and 3.26: 21-48]. (16) After thus for you having described the three departments of this bewildering energy, this agent of the Supreme Lord consisting of maintenance, creation and dissolution [characterized by goodness, passion and ignorance], what would you like to hear more from us?'

(17) The honorable king said: 'Oh great sage, please tell how [even] materialistic people with ease may overcome this material energy of the Lord that is so unsurpassable for those lacking in self-control.'

(18) S' Prabuddha said: 'Understand that people who live as husband and wife, with their endeavors to lessen the distress and to gain in happiness, achieve the opposite result. (19) What happiness can one expect from the unsteadiness of having a home, children, relatives, domestic animals and the hard to acquire wealth always giving distress, that mean death to the soul? (20) Know that the idealized world for which one thus settles, is founded upon fruitive labor, cannot be sustained and is characterized by matters like a loss of behaving properly in groups of equals as also with superiors [B.G. 8: 16]. (21) Someone eager to know about the highest good, should therefore take shelter of a spiritual master who resides in the supreme tranquility of the Absolute Truth, and is also well versed in the conclusions of the Vedas [see e.g. 5.5: 10-13, 7.11: 13, 7.12: 1-16, 7.15: 25-26, 10.86: 57 and B.G. 4: 34]. (22) With the guru as one's soul and worshipable deity, one should learn the science of devotional service [the bhāgavata dharma or emancipation process, see 11.2: 34] by which, free from illusion being of faithful service, the Supreme Soul can be satisfied who bestows His own Self [**]. (23) One should first of all detach the mind from everything and properly, with mercy, friendship and reverence for all living beings, cultivate association with devotees [compare 11.2: 46]. (24) [That entails: inner and outer] cleanliness, penance, tolerance and silence, scriptural study, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence and equanimity concerning the known opposites [see also yama, niyama and B.G. 12: 13-20]. (25) In solitude, without [attachment to] a fixed residence, wearing old rags and satisfied with anything, one should with the Lord constantly kept in mind, meditate on the omnipresent True Self [see also 2.2: 5, 7.13: 1-10]. (26) With faith in the scriptures about the Supreme Lord and not blaspheming other scriptures, one should, with respect for the truth and with one's mind, speech and activities strictly controlled, be innerly peaceful and master one's senses [see also B.G. 15: 15]. (27-28) Hearing, chanting and meditating the incarnations, pastimes and qualities of the Lord whose activities are all wonderful, one must do everything for His sake. Whatever worship, charity, penance, japa or piety one performs, everything held dear, one's wife, sons, home and very life air, one should dedicate to the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 27]. (29) In rendering service to both [the moving and nonmoving living beings] one must be of friendship with the common man as also with the devotees, the great souls who accepted Krishna as the Lord of their heart. (30) By the glories of the Lord one may find in mutual discussions, in being attracted to each other, in pleasing one another and in one's together putting an end to material activities, the purification of [one's relation with] the soul [see also B.G. 3: 38]. (31) Remembering [Him] and reminding one another, the bhakti unto the Lord who puts an end to the chain of sins, because of that devotion leads to an awakening whereby the body responds with goose bumps [see also 11.2: 40]. (32) Sometimes one cries by the thought of Acyuta, sometimes one laughs or takes great pleasure or speaks, acts wondrously, dances and sings, and sometimes one, following the example of the Unborn One, is freed from distress and becomes silent while attaining the Supreme [see also 10.35]. (33) Thus learning about the bhāgavata dharma and taking lessons from the bhakti resulting, someone aimed at Nārāyana will easily overcome the māyā so difficult to defeat [see also 1.1: 2].'

(34) The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'Please, all of you expert knowers of the Supreme, be so kind to speak to us about the transcendental position of the Supersoul of the Absolute Truth, that is associated with the name of Nārāyana [see also 1.2: 11].'

(35) S'rī Pippalāyana said: 'Oh King, know that the Supreme gives life, it is that on the basis of which the senses, the life air and the minds of the bodies of all living beings are moving. It constitutes  the cause without cause of the creation, destruction and maintenance of this universe, that exists in the state of wakefulness, in the dream state and in the unconscious state, as also external to these states [of consciousness]. (36) This [Supreme Truth] cannot be covered by the mind, by the faculties of speech, sight, intelligence, the life air or by the senses, just as a fire cannot be covered by its own sparks. Not even the Vedic word may express it, for the Vedas deny that the Supreme Self can be expressed in words. It can only be achieved by indirect expressions, by words referring to that without which there would be no ultimate purpose to the scriptural restrictions [compare 10.87]. (37) In the beginning being One, it thereafter became known as the threefold of goodness, passion and ignorance [of the gunas] that is associated with the power to act, the power of consciousness and the I-awareness, that one calls the individual living being [the jīva, the individual soul]. Assuming the forms of spiritual knowledge [the gods], of actions [of the senses] and their objects, and of [good and bad] results, it thus possesses a great variety of energies. It is the Supreme alone that [as the Absolute Truth or Brahman] is manifest beyond both the [relative of the] gross and the subtle [see also mahat-tattva, pradhāna, 4.29: 79, B.G. 10: 42, 13: 13 & 7: 14]. (38) This Soul, never born and never dying, grows nor decays. It is the knower of the stages of life of the living beings subjected to change. That Soul, omnipresent and everlasting, which is pure consciousness, became many [jīvas], just as the [one] life air [prāna] by the power of the senses resulted in a variety [of vital forms, see also B.G. 2: 23-30 and ***]. (39) [With beings that originated] from eggs, with embryos, with plants and with that what is difficult to discern in moisture [micro-organisms], the vital air accompanies the [same] individual soul [see also linga] from one [life form] to the other, just as the self, apart from the thought process, invariably stays the same when one's memory restores upon awakening from a deep sleep in which the ego and the senses were merged [see B.G. 2: 22]. (40) When one desires the feet of Him with the Lotus navel, the dirt in the heart that was generated by the modes of nature and the fruitive action, is cleansed away by the power of bhakti. After thus being purified completely, the truth of the soul is directly realized, just as the rising sun becomes visible to the naked eye [B.G. 2: 55 and 6: 20-23 and nyāyika].'

(41) The honorable king said: 'Please explain to us the karma-yoga by which a person being purified in this life quickly gets rid of his fruitive actions and, freed from karmic reactions, achieves the Supreme [see also B.G. 1-6 or 3.5]. (42) In the presence of my father [Ikshvāku, see also 9.6: 4] I in the past asked the sages [the Kumāras] a similar question, but the sons of Brahmā did not reply. Can you speak about the reason for this?'

(43) S'rī Āvirhotra replied: 'Right action, non-action and wrong action [karma, akarma, vikarma] are Vedic subject matters, not a worldly subject, and since Vedic knowledge comes from the Lord Himself, [even such great] enlightened souls [easily] get confused about this matter [see also B.G. 4: 16-17 and 4.29: 26-27]. (44) Offering guidance to ignorant human beings, the Vedas in covert terms prescribe material activities [duties] to be freed from karma, the way one also prescribes a medicine [see also B.G. 3: 26, see 5.5: 17, 10.24: 17-18]. (45) Someone ignorant who has not subdued his senses and fails to do what the Vedas say, by his lack of dharma following a wrong course of action [vikarma], will achieve death time and again [see also B.G. 3: 8, 16: 23-24, 17: 5-6, 18: 7]. (46) When one, according to what the Vedas prescribe, without attachment performs and sacrifices for the sake of the Supreme Lord, one will certainly achieve the perfection that, to raise interest, is put in terms of tangible results [karma-kānda and B.G. 4: 17-23]. (47) Someone who quickly wants to cut the knot [of attachment] in the heart that binds the soul to the body, should, with [respect for] the regulative principles [the vidhi], worship Lord Kes'ava, as also study the divine as described in the supplementary Vedic literatures [the tantras, see also B.G. 12: 6-7]. (48) Having obtained the mercy [the initiation] of the teacher of example [the ācārya], who shows him what is handed down by tradition, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality in the particular form he prefers [see also B.G. 3: 35, 7: 20]. (49) Cleansed, sitting in front [of His idol], with a concentrated mind controlling his breath and such [see ashthānga-yoga], and purifying the body by invoking His protection in renunciation [by assigning the different parts of his body to Him by marking them with mantras], he should worship the Lord [see also B.G. 5: 27-28 and 6.8: 4-6]. (50-51) With all available ingredients he [thereto] prepares himself in his heart and mind. He takes the deity and everything belonging to it, as also the items to be offered, and sprinkles the floor and the place to sit. He prepares the water for the sacrifice and attentively puts the deity in its proper place. He draws sacred marks on His heart and the other parts of His body. Next he is of worship with the appropriate mantra [4*]. (52-53) With the mantras belonging to Him he should be of worship for each particular deity and its limbs, His special features [like His cakra] and His associates [like the pańca-tattva, see the S'is'umāra-mantra or the Ambaris'a prayers for the cakra mentioned in 5.23: 8 and 9.5]. The worship in every respect as enjoined presenting with water for His feet, scented water to welcome, water for the mouth and for bathing and such, with clothing, ornaments, fragrances, necklaces, unbroken barleycorns [meant for applying tilaka], and with garlands, incense, lamps and such offerings, he should bow down to the Lord with reverence and prayer. (54) Absorbing himself in that activity [as a servant and not falsely identifying himself] he should, thus meditating, fully be of worship for the mūrti of the Lord. Then, taking the remnants to his head [for acceptance], he should put Him respectfully back where He belongs. (55) He who thus worships the Lord, the Supreme Soul, who is present in the fire, the sun, the water and so on, as also in the guest and in one's own heart [see also 2.2: 8], will soon be liberated.'

 

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Third revised edition, loaded February 11, 2022.

 

 

 

 

Previous Aadhar edition and Vedabase links:

Text 1

The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'My lords, please tell us about the illusory potency [or māyā, see also 11.2: 48] of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, we would like to understand that what bewilders even the great mystics.
The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'My lords, please tell us, we wish to understand of the Supreme Lord Vishnu the illusory potency [or māyā, see also 11.2: 48], which is bewildering even the great mystics. (Vedabase)

 

Text 2

We enjoy the nectar of your talks about Lord Hari, but we are not yet satisfied by that antidote against the pain a mortal experiences being tormented by the misery of samsāra.'

Cherishing the nectar of your words on the topics of Hari, am I, a mortal tormented by the misery of samsāra, not yet satiated with it being the antidote for that pain.' (Vedabase)


Text 3

S'rī Antarīksha said: 'The Soul of All Living Beings evolved all creatures high and low, by means of the elements of the greater creation [see B.G. 13: 22 & 14: 18], oh mighty armed one, so that they, the Original Person's own [parts and parcels], could be successful with [the choice between] the sense objects and the true self, the Soul [see also 10.87: 2].

S'rī Antarīksha said: 'By the elements of the greater creation evolved [conditioned] the Soul of All Creation, the creatures high and low [see B.G. 13: 22 & 14: 18], o mighty armed one, so that for the Original One His own [parts and parcels] there was the [choice of] accomplishing by sense-gratification and by self-realization [see also 10.87: 2]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 4

Having entered the living beings that thus were created with the help of the five gross elements and having divided Himself as the one [witness] to the ten [senses of perception and action], He was pleased to engage them [in a life] with the basic qualities of nature.

Having entered the living beings thus created by the five gross elements and dividing Himself as the one [witness, the spirit, the mind] to the ten [senses of perception and action], engages He them with the modes. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 5

The living being, which by the Supreme Soul was given a life with the basic qualities, enjoys those modes and consequently takes this created body for the true self - as also himself for the master, and thus becomes entangled [see also B.G. 15: 8, compare 11.2: 37].

The living being, enlivened by the Supreme Soul, as the master [see also B.G. 15: 8], by the modes enjoying with the modes thus getting entangled in this, thinks the created body to be his essence [compare 11.2: 37]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 6

The proprietor of the body is, because of the sense-motivated actions, driven by desires and engaged in different karmic - fruitive - activities from which he reaps the different fruits. And thus he moves through this world in both a state of happiness and the contrary thereof [see B.G. 2: 62].

By the organs of action to his desires performing fruitive activities, does the proprietor of the body reap the various fruits of labor, wandering through the world in happiness and other emotions [see B.G. 2.62]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 7

This way by his karma reaching destinations that bring him a lot of things not so good, the living being till the end of time helplessly experiences birth and death.

This way by his karma getting to destinations involving a lot of things that are not so good, experiences the living being helplessly birth and death until the great deluge. (Vedabase)

 

Text 8

When the dissolution of the material elements is at hand, [the Lord in the form of] Time, which has no beginning or an end, withdraws the manifest universe, consisting of the gross objects and subtle modes, back into the not manifest [see also 3.29: 40-45, 3.26: 51].

When the dissolution of the material elements is at hand withdraws the [Lord in the form of] Time Without a Beginning or an End, the manifest universe consisting of the gross objects and subtle modes [back] into the unmanifest [see also 3.29: 40-45, 3.26: 51]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 9

There will be a terrible drought on earth that lasts for a hundred years, so that the three worlds during that period will be seriously scorched by the accumulated heat of the sun.

Most assuredly will there be a terrible drought on the earth lasting for a hundred years during which the accumulated heat of the sun will seriously scorch the three worlds. (Vedabase

 

Text 10

Beginning from the lower regions [Pātāla], the fire, with its flames fanned by the winds shooting upwards from the mouth of Sankarshana, will burn all directions.

Beginning from the lower regions [Pātāla], will the fire from the mouth of Sankarshana with its flames shooting upwards, driven by the winds, burn all directions. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 11

Great masses of samvartaka ['end time'] clouds will rain for a hundred years, with torrents as long as elephant trunks, so that everything will be inundated.

Great masses of clouds will rain for a hundred years with torrents massive as elephant trunks because of which the universe will submerge. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 12

Oh King, the universe will thereupon, like a fire running out of fuel, be abandoned by the Personality of the Universal Form, as He [in the form of Brahmā] enters the subtle reality of the unseen [pradhāna, see also B.G. 8: 19, 3.32: 12-15].

The Original Personality of the Universal Form then relinquishing the universe [as His body], o King, enters the subtle unmanifest, just like a fire that ran out of fuel [see also B.G. 8: 19, 3.32: 12-15]. (Vedabase)

  

 Text 13

The earth, by the wind deprived of its aroma, changes [back] into water and the water by the same process [of the wind] being deprived of its taste, becomes fire [again, see *].

The earth by the wind deprived of its aroma changes back into water and the water by the same process deprived of its taste becomes fire [again, see *]. (Vedabase)


 Text 14

Fire, by darkness deprived of its [quality, its] form, turns into air and the air, losing its [quality of] touch, dissolves into the ether. When the sky [the ether], by the Supreme Soul of Time is deprived of its quality [of sound], it merges into the ego [of not-knowing].

Fire, by darkness deprived of its form, inevitably turns into air and the air, by the ether losing its touch, dissolves into the sky, while the sky by the Supreme Soul of Time no longer being tangible merges into the ego [of not-knowing]. (Vedabase)


 Text 15

The senses, the mind and the intelligence, oh King, merge together with the gods [representing the emotions] into the ego-element, and the I-awareness merges together with all its guna-qualities into the Supreme Self [see also 3.6 and 3.26: 21-48].

The senses, the mind and the intelligence along with the gods [representing the emotions], o King, enter into the ego-element and the I-awareness along with all its guna-qualities merges into the Supreme Self [see also 3.6 and 3.26: 21-48]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 16

After thus for you having described the three departments of this bewildering energy, this agent of the Supreme Lord consisting of maintenance, creation and dissolution [characterized by goodness, passion and ignorance], what would you like to hear more from us?'

With us thus having described this illusory energy consisting of three qualities, this agent of creation, maintenance and dissolution of the Supreme Lord, what more would you like to hear?' (Vedabase)


Text 17

The honorable king said: 'Oh great sage, please tell how [even] materialistic people with ease may overcome this material energy of the Lord that is so unsurpassable for those lacking in self-control.'

The honorable king said: 'O great sage, please tell how persons dull of intelligence with ease may overcome this material energy of the Lord, so unsurpassable to those who are not self-controlled.' (Vedabase)

 

 Text 18

S' Prabuddha said: 'Understand that people who live as husband and wife, with their endeavors to lessen the distress and to gain in happiness, achieve the opposite result.

S'rī Prabuddha said: 'Of people living as husband and wife one should see that the endeavoring in fruitive activities, in order to lessen the distress and to gain in happiness, leads to opposite results. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 19

What happiness can one expect from the unsteadiness of having a home, children, relatives, domestic animals and the hard to acquire wealth always giving distress, that mean death to the soul?

What happiness is gained with the unsteadiness of one's home, children, relatives and domestic animals and with the hard to acquire wealth, that constantly being in pain for, brings the death of the soul?(Vedabase)

 

 Text 20

Know that the idealized world for which one thus settles, is founded upon fruitive labor, cannot be sustained and is characterized by matters like a loss of behaving properly in groups of equals as also with superiors [B.G. 8: 16].

One should understand that the next world [heaven or 'a higher planet'] this way settled from fruitive action is impermanent and is characterized by ruination from [the rivalry of] equals and superiors [B.G. 8: 16], just as it is with moving in higher circles [in this world]. (Vedabase)


 Text 21

Someone eager to know about the highest good, should therefore take shelter of a spiritual master who resides in the supreme tranquility of the Absolute Truth, and is also well versed in the conclusions of the Vedas [see e.g. 5.5: 10-13, 7.11: 13, 7.12: 1-16, 7.15: 25-26, 10.86: 57 and B.G. 4: 34].

Therefore should one, being inquisitive about the highest good, take shelter of a spiritual master who resides in the supreme tranquility of the Absolute Truth and is well versed in the brahminical word [see e.g. 5.5: 10-13, 7.11: 13, 7.12: 1-16, 7.15: 25-26, 10.86: 57 & B.G. 4: 34]. (Vedabase)


 Text 22

With the guru as one's soul and worshipable deity, one should learn the science of devotional service [the bhāgavata dharma or emancipation process, see 11.2: 34] by which, free from illusion being of faithful service, the Supreme Soul can be satisfied who bestows His own Self [**].

There, with the guru as one's soul and deity, should one learn the bhāgavata dharma [see 11.2: 34] by which, without deceit being faithfully of service, the Supreme Soul, the Lord bestowing His own Self, can be satisfied [**]. (Vedabase)


 Text 23

One should first of all detach the mind from everything and properly, with mercy, friendship and reverence for all living beings, cultivate association with devotees [compare 11.2: 46].

To begin with should the mind in every way be of detachment and should one thus, as is suitable, with mercy, friendship and reverence for all living beings be of association with the saintly [compare 11.2: 46]. (Vedabase)


 Text 24

[That entails: inner and outer] cleanliness, penance, tolerance and silence, scriptural study, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence and equanimity concerning the known opposites [see also yama, niyama and B.G. 12: 13-20].

One should be of [inner and outer] cleanliness, penance, tolerance and silence; scriptural study, simplicity, celibacy, nonviolence and of equanimity when confronted with the duality [see also yama & niyama and B.G. 12: 13-20]. (Vedabase)

 

 Text 25

In solitude, without [attachment to] a fixed residence, wearing old rags and satisfied with anything, one should with the Lord constantly kept in mind, meditate on the omnipresent True Self [see also 2.2: 5, 7.13: 1-10].

In solitude without a fixed residence, wearing rags left over, and satisfied with anything, should one with the Controller constantly envisioned, meditate for the True Self Omnipresent [see also 2.2: 5, 7.13: 1-10]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 26

With faith in the scriptures about the Supreme Lord and not blaspheming other scriptures, one should, with respect for the truth and with one's mind, speech and activities strictly controlled, be innerly peaceful and master one's senses [see also B.G. 15: 15].

With faith in the scripture related to the Supreme Lord and not blaspheming other scriptures, should one with respect for the truth, being of strict control with the mind, one's speech and one's activities, be of inner peace and sense control as well [see also B.G. 15: 15]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 27-28

Hearing, chanting and meditating the incarnations, pastimes and qualities of the Lord whose activities are all wonderful, one must do everything for His sake. Whatever worship, charity, penance, japa or piety one performs, everything held dear, one's wife, sons, home and very life air, one should dedicate to the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 27].

Hearing, chanting and meditating the pastimes and transcendental qualities of the Lord, of whose incarnations the activities are all wonderful, must one do everything for His sake. With whatever worship one performs, of whatever charity, penance, japa, piety, one is, must one that, including whatever one holds dear, one's wife, one's sons, home and very life air, do as an offering unto the Supreme [see also B.G. 9: 27]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 29

In rendering service to both [the moving and nonmoving living beings] one must be of friendship with the common man as also with the devotees, the great souls who accepted Krishna as the Lord of their heart.

With the service rendered ąnd to both [the moving and nonmoving] and to the humans, ąnd to the ones fixed in the saintly and to the greatest, should one thus be of friendship and service to the people who accept Krishna as the Lord of their soul. (Vedabase)

 

Text 30

By the glories of the Lord one may find in mutual discussions, in being attracted to each other, in pleasing one another and in one's together putting an end to material activities, the purification of [one's relation with] the soul [see also B.G. 3: 38].

In mutual discussion, in mutual attraction and in mutual satisfaction, is there, through the glories of the Lord, in the mutual cessation of material activities, the purification of [the relating to] the soul [see also 3: 38]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 31

Remembering [Him] and reminding one another, the bhakti unto the Lord who puts an end to the chain of sins, because of that devotion leads to an awakening whereby the body responds with goose bumps [see also 11.2: 40].

Remembering and reminding one another is one by the bhakti unto the Lord who puts an end to the chain of sins, awakened and has one of the devotion a body agitated with ecstasy [see also 11.2: 40]. (Vedabase)


Text 32

Sometimes one cries by the thought of Acyuta, sometimes one laughs or takes great pleasure or speaks, acts wondrously, dances and sings, and sometimes one, following the example of the Unborn One, is freed from distress and becomes silent while attaining the Supreme [see also 10.35].

Sometimes one cries by the thought of Acyuta, sometimes one laughs, takes great pleasure and speaks, acts wondrously, dances and sings and sometimes is one, imitating the Unborn One getting silent, freed from distress and attains one the Supreme [see also 10.35]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 33

Thus learning about the bhāgavata dharma and taking lessons from the bhakti resulting, someone aimed at Nārāyana will easily overcome the māyā so difficult to defeat [see also 1.1: 2].'

Thus learning the bhāgavata dharma and by the resulting bhakti completely being devoted to Nārāyana, crosses one easily over the māyā so difficult to overcome [see also 1.1: 2].' (Vedabase)

 

Text 34

The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'Please, all of you expert knowers of the Supreme, be so kind to speak to us about the transcendental position of the Supersoul of the Absolute Truth, that is associated with the name of Nārāyana [see also 1.2: 11].'

The honorable king [Nimi] said: 'Please, all of you expert knowers of the spiritual, be so kind as to describe to us the transcendental situation of the Supersoul of the Absolute Truth associated with the name of Nārāyana [see also 1.2: 11].' (Vedabase)

 

Text 35

S'rī Pippalāyana said: 'Oh King, know that the Supreme gives life, it is that on the basis of which the senses, the life air and the minds of the bodies of all living beings are moving. It constitutes  the cause without cause of the creation, destruction and maintenance of this universe, that exists in the state of wakefulness, in the dream state and in the unconscious state, as also external to these states [of consciousness].

S'rī Pippalāyana said: 'Please o King, know the Supreme [Personality of Godhead] to be that: the Causeless Cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe, which in wakefulness, in the dream state and in deep sleep, as well as external to them exists and by which the bodies, the senses, the life airs and the minds being enlivened act. (Vedabase)


Text 36

This [Supreme Truth] cannot be covered by the mind, by the faculties of speech, sight, intelligence, the life air or by the senses, just as a fire cannot be covered by its own sparks. Not even the Vedic word may express it, for the Vedas deny that the Supreme Self can be expressed in words. It can only be achieved by indirect expressions, by words referring to that without which there would be no ultimate purpose to the scriptural restrictions [compare 10.87].

This can by mind, speech, sight, intelligence, life air nor the senses be covered, just as a fire cannot by its own sparks; not even the vedic word may express it as it denies that of the Supreme Self - without which the scriptural restrictions would have no ultimate purpose - could be but by evidence of indirect expression [compare 10.87]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 37

In the beginning being One, it thereafter became known as the threefold of goodness, passion and ignorance [of the gunas], that is associated with the power to act, the power of consciousness and the I-awareness, that one calls the individual living being [the jīva, the individual soul]. Assuming the forms of spiritual knowledge [the gods], of actions [of the senses] and their objects, and of [good and bad] results, it thus possesses a great variety of energies. It is the Supreme alone that [as the Absolute Truth or Brahman] is manifest beyond both the [relative of the] gross and the subtle [see also mahat-tattva, pradhāna, 4.29: 79, B.G. 10: 42, 13: 13 & 7: 14].

In the beginning being One became the goodness, passion and ignorance known as the threefold, that with the power to act, the power of consciousness and the ego awareness thus is called the individual living being [the jīva] assuming the forms of spiritual knowledge [the gods], the actions [the senses] and the fruits [of good and bad results]; thus is it, possessing great varieties of energy, the Supreme Brahman alone that is manifest beyond both the gross and the subtle [forms it assumes, see also Mahāt-tattva, pradhāna, 4.29: 79, B.G. 10: 42, 13: 13 & 7: 14]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 38

This Soul, never born and never dying, grows nor decays. It is the knower of the stages of life of the living beings subjected to change. That Soul, omnipresent and everlasting, which is pure consciousness, became many [jīvas], just as the [one] life air [prāna] by the power of the senses resulted in a variety [of vital forms, see also B.G. 2: 23-30 and ***].

This Soul, never born, never dying, grows nor decays; it is the knower of the times of living of the beings subject to change, and that Soul, indeed constantly everywhere never disappearing, is pure consciousness indeed just like the [one] life air [prāna] within is, by the force of the senses getting imagined as being divided [see also B.G. 2: 23-30 and ***]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 39

[With beings that originated] from eggs, with embryos, with plants and with that what is difficult to discern in moisture [micro-organisms], the vital air accompanies the [same] individual soul [see also linga] from one [life form] to the other, just as the self, apart from the thought process, invariably stays the same when one's memory restores upon awakening from a deep sleep in which the ego and the senses were merged [see B.G. 2: 22].

[With beings] from eggs, from embryos, from plants and from the indistinct of moisture follows the vital air the individual soul [see also linga] indeed from one [life form] to another; just as there, apart from the mode of thinking when the senses and the ego are all merged in deep sleep, is the unchanging [of the eternal self] with the subsequent remembrance [upon awakening see B.G. 2: 22]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 40

When one desires the feet of Him with the Lotus navel, the dirt in the heart that was generated by the modes of nature and the fruitive action, is cleansed away by the power of bhakti. After thus being purified completely, the truth of the soul is directly realized, just as the rising sun becomes visible to the naked eye [B.G. 2: 55 and 6: 20-23 and nyāyika].'

When one desires the feet of the One With the Lotus-navel is the dirt of the heart, sprouting from the fruitive action to the modes of nature, cleansed away by the power of bhakti and is, fully purified, directly the truth of the soul realized, just as one with one's naked eye can see the sunshine [B.G: 2: 55 & 6: 20-23 and nyāyika].' (Vedabase)

 

Text 41

The honorable king said: 'Please explain to us the karma-yoga by which a person being purified in this life quickly gets rid of his fruitive actions and, freed from karmic reactions, achieves the Supreme [see also B.G. 1-6 or 3.5].

The honorable king said: 'Please explain to us the karma yoga by which being refined a person in this life quickly gets rid of his fruitive actions and, freed from karmic reactions, enjoys the transcendental [see also B.G. 1-6 or 3.5]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 42

In the presence of my father [Ikshvāku, see also 9.6: 4] I in the past asked the sages [the Kumāras] a similar question, but the sons of Brahmā did not reply. Can you speak about the reason for this?'

In front of my father [Ikshvāku see also 9.6: 4] I asked the sages [the kumāras] a similar question in the past, but the sons of Brahmā didn't answer, please, for that reason, speak about it.' (Vedabase)

 

Text 43

S'Āvirhotra replied: 'Right action, non-action and wrong action [karma, akarma, vikarma] are Vedic subject matters, not a worldly subject, and since Vedic knowledge comes from the Lord Himself, [even such great] enlightened souls [easily] get confused about this matter [see also B.G. 4: 16-17 and 4.29: 26-27].

S'rī Āvirhotra replied: 'Karma, akarma and vikarma are, because they originating from the Controller not being worldly, are subject matter understood though the Vedas, something about which even the great scholars are confused [see also B.G. 4.16-17 and 4.29: 26-27]. (Vedabase)


Text 44

Offering guidance to ignorant human beings, the Vedas in covert terms prescribe material activities [duties] to be freed from karma, the way one also prescribes a medicine [see also B.G. 3: 26, see 5.5: 17, 10.24: 17-18].

In covert terms do the Vedas, guiding the childlike to be freed from the karma, indeed prescribe material activities just as one prescribes a medicine [see also B.G. 3: 26, see 5.5: 17 , 10.24: 17-18]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 45

Someone ignorant who has not subdued his senses and fails to do what the Vedas say, by his lack of dharma following a wrong course of action [vikarma], will achieve death time and again [see also B.G. 3: 8, 16: 23-24, 17: 5-6, 18: 7].

The one, who not having subdued his senses, ignorantly not performs what the Vedas prescribe, achieves, by his irreligion going against the duty, death upon death [see also B.G. 3.8, 16: 23-24, 17: 5-6, 18: 7]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 46

When one, according to what the Vedas prescribe, without attachment performs and sacrifices for the sake of the Supreme Lord, one will certainly achieve the perfection that, to raise interest, is put in terms of tangible results [karma-kānda and B.G. 4: 17-23].

Certainly will one, to what the Vedas prescribe without attachment performing and offering to the Supreme Controller, achieve the perfection that for stimulating the interest is formulated in terms of fruitive results [karma-kānda & B.G. 4.17-23]. (Vedabase)


Text 47

Someone who quickly wants to cut the knot [of attachment] in the heart that binds the soul to the body, should, with [respect for] the regulative principles [the vidhi], worship Lord Kes'ava, as also study the divine as described in the supplementary Vedic literatures [the tantras, see also B.G. 12: 6-7].

One who swiftly wants to cut through the knot [of attachment] in the heart should worship Lord Kes'ava and as well study the divinity as described in the supplementary vedic literatures [the tantras, see also B.G. 12: 6-7]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 48

Having obtained the mercy [the initiation] of the teacher of example [the ācārya], who shows him what is handed down by tradition, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality in the particular form he prefers [see also B.G. 3: 35, 7: 20].

Having obtained the mercy [the initiation] of the teacher of example who shows him what is handed down by tradition, should the devotee be of worship for the Supreme Personality in the particular form of his preference [see also B.G. 3: 35, 7: 20]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 49

Cleansed, sitting in front [of His idol], with a concentrated mind controlling his breath and such [see ashthānga-yoga], and purifying the body by invoking His protection in renunciation [by assigning the different parts of his body to Him by marking them with mantras], he should worship the Lord [see also B.G. 5: 27-28 and 6.8: 4-6].

Clean in front of it seated controlling the breath and so on [see ashthānga-yoga] should he, purifying the body invoking the protection in renunciation, worship the Lord [assigning parts of his body to Him by marking with mantras, see also B.G. 5: 27-28 and 6.8: 4-6]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 50-51

With all available ingredients he [thereto] prepares himself in his heart and mind. He takes the deity and everything belonging to it, as also the items to be offered, and sprinkles the floor and the place to sit. He prepares the water for the sacrifice and attentively puts the deity in its proper place. He draws sacred marks on His heart and the other parts of His body. Next he is of worship with the appropriate mantra [4*].

With whatever ingredients available preparing oneself in the mind and heart, the deity and all thereto, the items to be offered, the ground and sprinkling the place to sit, should one, getting ready the water for the sacrifice, with concentration put the deity in its proper place having drawn sacred marks on its heart and other parts and with the appropriate mantra be of worship [4*]. (Vedabase)

 

Text 52-53

With the mantras belonging to Him he should be of worship for each particular deity and its limbs, His special features [like His cakra] and His associates [like the pańca-tattva, see the S'is'umāra-mantra or the Ambaris'a prayers for the cakra mentioned in 5.23: 8 and 9.5]. The worship in every respect as enjoined presenting with water for His feet, scented water to welcome, water for the mouth and for bathing and such, with clothing, ornaments, fragrances, necklaces, unbroken barleycorns [meant for applying tilaka], and with garlands, incense, lamps and such offerings, he should bow down to the Lord with reverence and prayer.

Worshiping each particular deity and its limbs, special features [like His cakra], and associates [like the pańca-tattva] with its own mantras [like e.g. the S'is'umāra-mantra or the Ambaris'a prayers for the cakra mentioned in 5.23: 8 and 9.5], with water for its feet, scented water to welcome, fine clothing, ornaments, fragrances, necklaces, unbroken barleycorns [for applying tilaka] and with garlands, incense, lamps and such offerings in all respects completing the worship as enjoined, should one honoring by prayer bow down to the Lord. (Vedabase)

 

Text 54

Absorbing himself in that activity [as a servant and not falsely identifying himself] he should, thus meditating, fully be of worship for the mūrti of the Lord. Then, taking the remnants to his head [for acceptance], he should put Him respectfully back where He belongs.

Absorbing oneself in that [as a servant and not falsely identifying himself] should one thus meditating fully be of worship for the mūrti of the Lord and, taking the remnants on one's head, put Him respectfully in His proper place. (Vedabase)

 

Text 55

He who thus worships the Lord, the Supreme Soul, who is present in the fire, the sun, the water and so on, as also in the guest and in one's own heart [see also 2.2: 8], will soon be liberated.'

He who thus worships the Controller, the Supreme Soul, present in the fire, the sun, the water and so on, as also in the guest and in one's own heart [see also 2.2: 8], becomes without delay liberated indeed. (Vedabase)

 

*: When a quality is removed, an element becomes non-different from the element that evolved earlier in the evolution of the universe, it then merges, changes, or dissolves into it. That is how the annihilation of the universe takes place.

**:  S'rīla Rūpa Gosvāmī formulated four preliminary requisites for advancement in this: '[1] Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master, [2] becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning from him how to discharge the duties of devotional service, [3] obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion, and [4] following in the footsteps of the great ācāryas [teachers] under the direction of the spiritual master' (Bhakti-rasāmrita-sindhu 1.2.74).

***: S'rīla Madhvācārya here quotes, from the Moksha-dharma section of Vyāsadeva's Mahābhārata, the Lord saying:

aham hi jīva-samjńo vai
mayi jīvah sanātanah
maivam tvayānumantavyam
dristho jīvo mayeti ha
aham s'reyo vidhāsyāmi
yathādhikāram īs'varah

'The living entity, known as jīva, is not different from Me, for he is My expansion. Thus the living entity is eternal, as I am, and always exists within Me. But you should not artificially think, 'now I have seen the soul.' Rather, I, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will bestow this benediction upon you when you are actually qualified.'

*4: Just as each prākrita, impersonalist, materialistic devotee, is worshiping the Lord as the deity of his preference in His form of Time, with pragmatically perverted, unleaped clocks and week divisions [see the Order of Time and kāla for correcting on this], and with mantras like 'be on time' and 'time is money', so too does classical bhakti, with the kanishthha or beginning personalist devotee, more faithful to the Vedic authority, worship the personal form of the Lord in the form of a [Krishna] deity while saying 'om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya' [4.8: 54], the Gāyatrī, the Mahāmantra and other mantras. In all these cases should be remembered what Vyāsa in 11.2: 47 says about mūrti worship in general.

 

 

 

 

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Painting 'Time" is © Johannes Ptok.
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