॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
॥ एकोनविंशोऽध्यायः - १९ ॥
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Discourse XIX
A Dissertation on Devotion, Spiritual Enlightenment and Yogic disciplines
in the form of the five Yamas, the (five) Niyamas and so on (Preamble)
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श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
यो विद्याश्रुतसम्पन्नः आत्मवान् नानुमानिकः ।
मायामात्रमिदं ज्ञात्वा ज्ञानं च मयि सन्न्यसेत् ॥ १॥
ज्ञानिनस्त्वहमेवेष्टः स्वार्थो हेतुश्च सम्मतः ।
स्वर्गश्चैवापवर्गश्च नान्योऽर्थो मदृते प्रियः ॥ २॥
ज्ञानविज्ञानसंसिद्धाः पदं श्रेष्ठं विदुर्मम ।
ज्ञानी प्रियतमोऽतो मे ज्ञानेनासौ बिभर्ति माम् ॥ ३॥
तपस्तीर्थं जपो दानं पवित्राणीतराणि च ।
नालं कुर्वन्ति तां सिद्धिं या ज्ञानकलया कृता ॥ ४॥
तस्माज्ज्ञानेन सहितं ज्ञात्वा स्वात्मानमुद्धव ।
ज्ञानविज्ञानसम्पन्नो भज मां भक्तिभावतः ॥ ५॥
ज्ञानविज्ञानयज्ञेन मामिष्ट्वाऽऽत्मानमात्मनि ।
सर्वयज्ञपतिं मां वै संसिद्धिं मुनयोऽगमन् ॥ ६॥
त्वय्युद्धवाश्रयति यस्त्रिविधो विकारो
मायान्तरापतति नाद्यपवर्गयोर्यत् ।
जन्मादयोऽस्य यदमी तव तस्य किं स्यु-
राद्यन्तयोर्यदसतोऽस्ति तदेव मध्ये ॥ ७॥
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The glorious Lord began again: He who is equipped with learning culminating in intuition, (nay,) who has realized the Self and does not take his stand on (mere) logical reasoning should know this world of differences (as well as the means of sublating it) to be a mere phantom appearing in Me and (eventually) relinquish this knowledge too. (This is what is technically known by the name of Vidwat-Samnyāsa.) (1)
To a man of wisdom I am the only beloved; I am recognized to be his purpose (goal) as well as the means of accomplishing it; I am his heaven (highest joy) and Mokṣa (release) too; no object other than Me is dear to him. (2)
(Only) those whose mind has been thoroughly purified through knowledge and realization (of the Self) are able to know My supreme state (glory). The man of wisdom bears Me up with his knowledge, hence he is most beloved of Me. (3)
Askesis, resorting to sacred places or holy waters, the muttering of prayers, charity and other purifying agencies do not consummately bring about that perfection which is wrought by a ray of Knowledge. (4)
Therefore, knowing your own self up to the stage of realization, O Uddhava, and equipped with (such) knowledge and realization and full of Devotion worship Me (alone, rejecting everything else). (5)
Having worshipped Me, their Inner Controller and Bestower of the fruit of all sacrifices, in their own self (heart), sages have attained to Me alone in the form of highest perfection (final beatitude). (6)
This threefold modification (of Prakṛti, in the form of the body, the senses and the mind) that crops up in you, O Uddhava, is (only) an illusion (and not real) in that it appears in the middle (like the serpent in a rope), and does not exist in the beginning or at the end. (Hence) when these (six) states—in the shape of birth etc., (viz., birth, existence, growth, transformation, decay and death)—befall (by turns) this psychophysical organism, nothing happens (no chang comes) to you, the substratum (beyond and unaffected by these states). (Reverting to the illustration of the serpent and the rope) what (the rope) persists before (the appearance of) and after (the disappearance of) a phantom (viz., the serpent) also exists in the middle. (Just as the states through which a serpent passes do not affect its substratum, viz., the rope, the states of the body do not affect you, the substratum of the body). (7) (1-7)
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उद्धव उवाच ।
ज्ञानं विशुद्धं विपुलं यथैत-
द्वैराग्यविज्ञानयुतं पुराणम् ।
आख्याहि विश्वेश्वर विश्वमूर्ते
त्वद्भक्तियोगं च महद्विमृग्यम् ॥ ८॥
तापत्रयेणाभिहतस्य घोरे
सन्तप्यमानस्य भवाध्वनीश ।
पश्यामि नान्यच्छरणं तवाङ्घ्रि-
द्वन्द्वातपत्रादमृताभिवर्षात् ॥ ९॥
दष्टं जनं सम्पतितं बिलेऽस्मिन्
कालाहिना क्षुद्रसुखोरुतर्षम् ।
समुद्धरैनं कृपयाऽऽपवर्ग्यै-
र्वचोभिरासिञ्च महानुभाव ॥ १०॥
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Uddhava submitted : (Pray.) expound in a thorough (conclusive) way, O Lord of the universe, which is Your own form! this purifying and most ancient (because embodied in the dateless Vedas) wisdom, coupled with dispassion and intuition, as well as the path of Devotion, sought after (even) by the great (Brahmā and others). (8)
For a man tormented on all sides with the threefold agony (viz., 1—that brought about by divine agencies in the form of natural calamities, 2—that inflicted by other living beings and 3—that arising out of bodily distemper or mental disturbance) and undergoing intense suffering in the fearful path of metempsychosis, O Lord, I find no shelter other than the umbrella of Your feet, which (not only affords protection against the scorching sunshine but also) rains nectar on all sides. (9)
Kindly lift up once for all this creature fallen deep into this abyss (of transmigration) and bitten by the snake of Death, (yet) seized by the great thirst for trifling delights (of sense), and soothe me with (nectar-like) words showing the way to Liberation, O Lord possessed of immense glory! (10) (8-10)
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श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
इत्थमेतत्पुरा राजा भीष्मं धर्मभृतां वरम् ।
अजातशत्रुः पप्रच्छ सर्वेषां नोऽनुशृण्वताम् ॥ ११॥
निवृत्ते भारते युद्धे सुहृन्निधनविह्वलः ।
श्रुत्वा धर्मान् बहून् पश्चान्मोक्षधर्मानपृच्छत ॥ १२॥
तानहं तेऽभिधास्यामि देवव्रतमुखाच्छ्रुतान् ।
ज्ञानवैराग्यविज्ञानश्रद्धाभक्त्युपबृंहितान् ॥ १३॥
नवैकादशपञ्चत्रीन् भावान् भूतेषु येन वै ।
ईक्षेताथैकमप्येषु तज्ज्ञानं मम निश्चितम् ॥ १४॥
एतदेव हि विज्ञानं न तथैकेन येन यत् ।
स्थित्युत्पत्त्यप्ययान् पश्येद्भावानां त्रिगुणात्मनाम् ॥ १५॥
आदावन्ते च मध्ये च सृज्यात्सृज्यं यदन्वियात् ।
पुनस्तत्प्रतिसङ्क्रामे यच्छिष्येत तदेव सत् ॥ १६॥
श्रुतिः प्रत्यक्षमैतिह्यमनुमानं चतुष्टयम् ।
प्रमाणेष्वनवस्थानाद्विकल्पात्स विरज्यते ॥ १७॥
कर्मणां परिणामित्वादाविरिञ्चादमङ्गलम् ।
विपश्चिन्नश्वरं पश्येददृष्टमपि दृष्टवत् ॥ १८॥
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The glorious Lord replied : Thus did King Yudhiṣṭhira (who bore no enmity to any creature whatsoever) ask this (very) question in the former days of Bhīṣma, the foremost of those devoted to the righteous course (pleasing to the Lord), while all of us listened. (11)
Having heard the exposition of many righteous courses—when the (internecine) war between the Bhāratas had come to an end—Yudhiṣṭhira, distressed over the death of his kinsmen, subsequently asked Bhīṣma about the courses of conduct conducive to emancipation. (12)
I shall reproduce to you the exposition of those righteous courses which was heard (by Me) from the lips of Bhīṣma (of heavenly vows), and which is full of precepts on spiritual enlightenment, dispassion, intuition, faith and Devotion. (13)
Jñāna (spiritual enlightenment) has been concluded by Me to be that by which one is enabled to perceive the nine (viz., Prakṛti or primordial Matter, Puruṣa or the Spirit, Mahat-tattva or the principle of cosmic intelligence, Ahaṅkāra or the cosmic Ego and the five Tanmātrās or subtle elements), the eleven (viz., the five senses of perception, the five organs of action and the mind), the five (viz., the gross elements), and the three categories (namely, the three Guṇas or modes of Prakṛti, viz., Sattva or the principle of harmony, Rajas or the principle of activity and Tamas or the principle of ignorance and inertia) as permeating (all) created beings (from Brahmā, the earliest and foremost of all, down to the merest blade of grass) and further perceives the one (intelligent principle, viz., the Supreme Spirit) running through them. (14)
When (however) a man no longer perceives as he did before the many (phenomena) as permeated by the one (reality, viz., Brahmā) but sees that one reality only, that alone is Vijñāna to be sure. (In order to perceive this one reality (alone), he should ponder the coming into existence, continuance and dissolution (i.e., the transitoriness and hence unreality) of (the many) existences constituted of the three Guṇas. (15)
That alone should be concluded to be real, which abides at the beginning as well as at the end (of creation) and follows from one evolute to another in the middle, and again which remains (as the residue) in the process of their involution (return to original state). (16)
Of the (many) Pramāṇas (means of cognition) Śruti texts (negating plurality), direct perception (of an effect being invariably produced by a cause), tradition and inference—these four are the most authoritative. Plurality of substances not finding support in the light of these; a discerning man (realizes the spiritual substance permeating all phenomena to be the only reality and) recoils from diversity (in the form of this world of matter). (17)
Since (all) ritual acts (which are rewarded with heaven) are transient, a wise man should look upon even the invisible world, including the realm of Brahmā (the creator), as full of misery and perishable like the visible. (18) (11-18)
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भक्तियोगः पुरैवोक्तः प्रीयमाणाय तेऽनघ ।
पुनश्च कथयिष्यामि मद्भक्तेः कारणं परम् ॥ १९॥
श्रद्धामृतकथायां मे शश्वन्मदनुकीर्तनम् ।
परिनिष्ठा च पूजायां स्तुतिभिः स्तवनं मम ॥ २०॥
आदरः परिचर्यायां सर्वाङ्गैरभिवन्दनम् ।
मद्भक्तपूजाभ्यधिका सर्वभूतेषु मन्मतिः ॥ २१॥
मदर्थेष्वङ्ग चेष्टा च वचसा मद्गुणेरणम् ।
मय्यर्पणं च मनसः सर्वकामविवर्जनम् ॥ २२॥
मदर्थेऽर्थपरित्यागो भोगस्य च सुखस्य च ।
इष्टं दत्तं हुतं जप्तं मदर्थं यद्व्रतं तपः ॥ २३॥
एवं धर्मैर्मनुष्याणामुद्धवात्मनिवेदिनाम् ।
मयि सञ्जायते भक्तिः कोऽन्योऽर्थोऽस्यावशिष्यते ॥ २४॥
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The path of Devotion has already been delineated by Me. I shall, however, tell you once more the royal road to Devotion, since you have developed a liking for it, O sinless one! (19)
Keenness to hear My nectar-like stories, repeated exposition of My stories when they have been (duly) heard, intense devotion to (My) worship, and glorifying Me with songs of praise, enthusiasm in doing service to Me (in the form of sweeping My temple and so on), saluting Me with all the eight limbs (viz., the head, breast, hands, knees and feet), offering much more devoted worship to My devotees and looking upon all created beings as Myself; directing (all) the movements of one's body to pursuits intended to propitiate Me (e.g., plucking basil leaves and flowers etc., for My worship), to utter My praises (alone) with one's speech, resigning the mind to Me, and giving up all (one's) desires; spurning for My sake (in order to be able to carry on My adoration uninterruptedly) wealth as well as the means of enjoyment (luxuries) and self-gratification, (all of which generally interfere with Devotion) and undertaking sacrificial performances, practising charity, offering oblations into the sacred fire, muttering prayers, observing fasts and other sacred vows and (other) austerities (in the form of undergoing hardships sanctioned by the Śāstras) done for My sake—all these are stepping-stones to Devotion. (20—23)
Devotion (consisting in all-absorbing Love for Me, the reward of all spiritual endeavours) to Me develops, by (following) such righteous courses, in the heart of men who dedicate (to My service) their (very) self (in the shape of their psychophysical organism as well as all that is connected with it), O Uddhava! What other objected remains for such a devotee to be accomplished? (In other words, all his objects are accomplished as a matter of course through Devotion alone.) (24) (19-24)
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यदात्मन्यर्पितं चित्तं शान्तं सत्त्वोपबृंहितम् ।
धर्मं ज्ञानं सवैराग्यमैश्वर्यं चाभिपद्यते ॥ २५॥
यदर्पितं तद्विकल्पे इन्द्रियैः परिधावति ।
रजस्वलं चासन्निष्ठं चित्तं विद्धि विपर्ययम् ॥ २६॥
धर्मो मद्भक्तिकृत्प्रोक्तो ज्ञानं चैकात्म्यदर्शनम् ।
गुणेष्वसङ्गो वैराग्यमैश्वर्यं चाणिमादयः ॥ २७॥
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When the mind, equipped with Sattva and (therefore) tranquil, is devoted to Me, man (automatically) acquires piety, wisdom coupled with dispassion and divine powers. (25)
When (however) the aforesaid mind is set on various objects (the body, dwelling etc.), it wanders alongwith the senses and gets all the more stained with Rajas and addicted to evil and then know it (for certain) that a man develops the reverse of piety etc., (viz., unrighteousness, ignorance, passion and lack of divinity). (26)
That (alone) which engenders devotion to Me is extolled (in the scriptures) as Dharma (piety); that (alone) which enables one to perceive unity (everywhere) is glorified as wisdom; a distaste for the pleasures of sense is spoken highly of as dispassion and mystic powers (such as the capacity to assume the size of an atom) are extolled as divine powers. (27) (25-27)
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उद्धव उवाच ।
यमः कति विधः प्रोक्तो नियमो वारिकर्शन ।
कः शमः को दमः कृष्ण का तितिक्षा धृतिः प्रभो ॥ २८॥
किं दानं किं तपः शौर्यं किं सत्यमृतमुच्यते ।
कस्त्यागः किं धनं चेष्टं को यज्ञः का च दक्षिणा ॥ २९॥
पुंसः किंस्विद्बलं श्रीमन् भगो लाभश्च केशव ।
का विद्या ह्रीः परा का श्रीः किं सुखं दुःखमेव च ॥ ३०॥
कः पण्डितः कश्च मूर्खः कः पन्था उत्पथश्च कः ।
कः स्वर्गो नरकः कः स्वित्को बन्धुरुत किं गृहम् ॥ ३१॥
क आढ्यः को दरिद्रो वा कृपणः कः क ईश्वरः ।
एतान् प्रश्नान् मम ब्रूहि विपरीतांश्च सत्पते ॥ ३२॥
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Uddhava submitted : Of how many varieties is Yama (self-control) declared to consist and of how many types is Niyama (self-discipline) declared to be, O Chastiser of foes ? What is Śama ? What does Dama consist in, O Enchanter of beings ? What is (the definition of) Titikṣā (and) what is firmness, O Lord ? (28)
What is charity ? What is Tapas ? What is valour ? What is truthfulness and what is called (by the name of) Rta ? What is (known as) Tyāga ? What is the esteemed wealth ? What is Yajña and what goes by the name of Dakṣiṇā ? (29)
What is the strength of men, O glorious One ? What is fortune and what is the gain, O Ruler (even) of Brahmā and Śiva ? What is supreme Wisdom ? What is Hri ? What is adornment ? What is happiness and what is misery ? (30)
Who is a man of erudition and who is a fool ? What is the path (of virtue) and what is the wrong way ? What is heaven ? What is hell ? Who is a friend and what is the home ? (31)
Who is opulent and who is a destitute ? Who is pitiable and who is the master of his self ? (Pray,) answer these questions of mine and (also) define the contraries (of what has been asked), O Protector of the virtuous ? (32) (28-32)
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श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयमसङ्गो ह्रीरसञ्चयः ।
आस्तिक्यं ब्रह्मचर्यं च मौनं स्थैर्यं क्षमाभयम् ॥ ३३॥
शौचं जपस्तपो होमः श्रद्धाऽऽतिथ्यं मदर्चनम् ।
तीर्थाटनं परार्थेहा तुष्टिराचार्यसेवनम् ॥ ३४॥
एते यमाः सनियमा उभयोर्द्वादश स्मृताः ।
पुंसामुपासितास्तात यथाकामं दुहन्ति हि ॥ ३५॥
शमो मन्निष्ठता बुद्धेर्दम इन्द्रियसंयमः ।
तितिक्षा दुःखसम्मर्षो जिह्वोपस्थजयो धृतिः ॥ ३६॥
दण्डन्यासः परं दानं कामत्यागस्तपः स्मृतम् ।
स्वभावविजयः शौर्यं सत्यं च समदर्शनम् ॥ ३७॥
ऋतं च सूनृता वाणी कविभिः परिकीर्तिता ।
कर्मस्वसङ्गमः शौचं त्यागः सन्न्यास उच्यते ॥ ३८॥
धर्म इष्टं धनं नॄणां यज्ञोऽहं भगवत्तमः ।
दक्षिणा ज्ञानसन्देशः प्राणायामः परं बलम् ॥ ३९॥
भगो म ऐश्वरो भावो लाभो मद्भक्तिरुत्तमः ।
विद्याऽऽत्मनि भिदाबाधो जुगुप्सा ह्रीरकर्मसु ॥ ४०॥
श्रीर्गुणा नैरपेक्ष्याद्याः सुखं दुःखसुखात्ययः ।
दुःखं कामसुखापेक्षा पण्डितो बन्धमोक्षवित् ॥ ४१॥
मूर्खो देहाद्यहं बुद्धिः पन्था मन्निगमः स्मृतः ।
उत्पथश्चित्तविक्षेपः स्वर्गः सत्त्वगुणोदयः ॥ ४२॥
नरकस्तम उन्नाहो बन्धुर्गुरुरहं सखे ।
गृहं शरीरं मानुष्यं गुणाढ्यो ह्याढ्य उच्यते ॥ ४३॥
दरिद्रो यस्त्वसन्तुष्टः कृपणो योऽजितेन्द्रियः ।
गुणेष्वसक्तधीरीशो गुणसङ्गो विपर्ययः ॥ ४४॥
एत उद्धव ते प्रश्नाः सर्वे साधु निरूपिताः ।
किं वर्णितेन बहुना लक्षणं गुणदोषयोः ।
गुणदोषदृशिर्दोषो गुणस्तूभयवर्जितः ॥ ४५॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां
संहितायां एकादशस्कन्धे एकोनविंशोऽध्यायः ॥ १९॥
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The glorious Lord replied : Harmlessness, uttering only that which is wholesome, agreeable and true, non-thieving, absence of attachment, modesty, non-accumulation of possessions, faith, chastity, silence, firmness (of resolve), forgiveness and fearlessness, bodily cleanliness and mental purity, muttering the Gāyatri and other sacred texts, austerity, pouring oblations into the sacred fire, reverence (for true religion), hospitality and offering worship to Me; visiting sacred places, working for the benefit of others, contentment and service to the preceptor—these have been declared to be the twelve Yamas and the twelve Niyamas divided in two (separate) verses. Carried into practice they positively yield fruit (in the shape of final beatitude or worldly prosperity) according to the desire of men, O dear one ! (33—35)
Śāma is dependence of the intellect on Me; Dama consists in control of the senses. Titikṣā consists in (calmly) enduring, suffering and firmness in completely controlling the palate and the sex. (36)
Forswearing enmity towards (the entire) creation is the highest form of charity; Tapas has been declared to consist in abandoning luxuries (of all kind). Valour consists in curbing one's natural propensities or cravings and truthfulness consists in perceiving unity (in the form of Brahma) everywhere. (37)
Rta has been declared by the wise as consisting in truthful and agreeable speech. Śauca (which is a variety of Tyāga when construed in the sense of shaking off impurity) consists in absence of attachment to one's actions; while Tyāga is declared as consisting in (renouncing the world and) entering the order of Saṃnyāsa. (38)
Righteousness is the esteemed wealth of men; Myself, the supreme Lord, am the Yajña (which should accordingly be performed as identical with Myself and not as a dry ritual). Dakṣiṇā (or gift made at a sacrifice) consists in service to the preceptor (which induces the preceptor to impart wisdom). Prāṇāyāma (control of breath) is the supreme strength (inasmuch as it is helpful in curbing the mind, which is so difficult to curb). (39)
My divine state (consisting in the six attributes of lordship, piety, glory, affluence, wisdom and dispassion, each in its fullest measure) is (real) fortune and Devotion to Me is the highest gain. Wisdom consists in sublating diversity (appearing) in the Self and Hari is shrinking from prohibited acts. (40)
Adornment consists in virtues like desirelessness; happiness consists in rising above joys and sorrows and misery lies in seeking gratification through enjoyment; a man of erudition is he who knows what is bondage and what is liberation. (41)
The fool is he who looks upon the body as his self and that connected with it as his; that which leads to My realization (the path of renunciation) has been declared to be the path (of virtue) and the path of worldly activity (which distracts the mind) is the wrong one; predominance of Sattvaguṇa is heaven. (42)
Preponderance of Tamoguṇa is hell. The preceptor is one's (true) friend and he is no other than Me (the teacher of the entire universe), O friend ! The human body is the (true) habitation (place of enjoyment). He alone who abounds in virtues is said to be opulent. (43)
Destitute is he who is discontented; he (alone) is pitiable, who has not been able to control his senses. He is the master (of his self), whose mind is not attached to the objects of sense; and he who is attached to the pleasures of sense is the opposite of a master (i.e., a slave). (44)
These questions of yours have all been duly answered. What is to be gained by elaborate discussion? The definition of good and evil (in a nutshell) is as follows. To direct one's eyes to the virtues and faults (of others) is evil, while virtues lies in developing a disposition entirely free from the habit of seeing the merits and demerits of others, O Uddhava! (45)
Thus ends the nineteenth discourse in Book Eleven of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhitā. (33-45)
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