Mahabharata: Vol. 5 Read online

  ‘“Arjuna said, ‘O descendant of the Vrishni lineage! By whom are these men compelled? Despite being unwilling, it is almost as if they are forced into evil action.’ 161

  ‘“The lord said, ‘This is desire. This is anger. These are born from the rajas quality. These are insatiable and great sins. 162 Here, 163 know them to be enemies. Like smoke covers the fire, like dust covers the mirror, like the womb covers the foetus, in that way, this 164 is covered by that. 165 O Kounteya! This is the perennial enemy of the wise. Knowledge is covered by this desire that is insatiable like the fire. All senses, the mind and intellect, are its 166 seat. This 167 uses these 168 to veil knowledge and delude beings. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, you should first control your senses. Destroy this 169 that is like sin and is the destroyer of knowledge. 170 It is said the senses are superior. 171 The mind is superior to the senses. Intellect is superior to the mind. That 172 is superior to intellect. O mighty-armed one! In this way, use intellect to realize that which is superior to the intellect. Use your inner strength to calm the atman 173 and destroy the enemy that is difficult to defeat, in the form of desire.’”’

  Chapter 886(26)

  ‘“The lord said, ‘I instructed this eternal yoga 174 to Vivasvat 175 and Vivasvat told it to Manu. Manu told it to Ikshaku. In this way, handed down by tradition, the royal sages 176 knew this. 177

  O scorcher of foes! In this world, because of the long passage of time, this yoga has been destroyed. 178 You are my follower and friend. 179 Therefore, today, I will tell you that old yoga, because this is excellent and secret knowledge.’

  ‘“Arjuna said, ‘Your birth was later and Vivasvat’s birth was earlier. How will I understand that you instructed this earlier?’

  ‘“The lord said, ‘O Arjuna! Many are the births that you and I have been through. I know them all. O scorcher of foes! You know not. I have no birth. I am indestructible. I am the lord of all beings. But even then, though existing in my own nature, I come into existence through my own resolution. 180 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Whenever dharma goes into a decline and adharma is on the ascendance, then I create myself. To protect the righteous and to destroy the sinners and to establish dharma, I manifest myself from yuga to yuga. 181 O Arjuna! He who thus knows the nature of my divine 182 birth and action, he is not born again when he dies, but attains me. Many, purified through the meditation of knowledge, have immersed themselves in me and sought refuge in me, discarding attachment, fear and anger. O Partha! Whoever worships me, in whatever way, I entertain them in that way. Everywhere, men follow along my path. In this world, people who desire success in their action, worship gods. Because in the world of men, success through action occurs quickly. 183 In accordance with gunas and action, the four varnas were created by me. 184 But despite being the creator of these, know me to be constant 185 and not the agent. 186 Actions do not touch me, nor do I desire the fruits of action. He who knows me in this fashion, is not tied down by action. Knowing this, those who sought liberation in the past, performed action. Therefore, you perform action alone, the path followed by predecessors in earlier times. Even the wise are confused about what is action and what is inaction. 187 Therefore, I will tell you what action 188 is. Knowing this, you will be freed from evil. Action itself has to be understood and prohibited action must also be understood. Inaction must also be understood. Because the path of action is difficult to comprehend. He who perceives inaction in action and perceives action in inaction, he is wise among men, has yoga and has the right to all action. 189 He whose efforts are always devoid of desire for fruit and ego, 190 he whose actions have been burnt by the fire of knowledge, the learned call him wise. He who has given up attachment to action and its fruit is always content and without refuge. 191 Even when he is immersed in action, he does nothing. Without attachment, controlled in mind and senses, having discarded all ownership 192 and performing action only through the body, 193 he does not attain the bondage of sin. Satisfied with unsought gains, 194 beyond opposites, 195 bereft of envy and regarding success and failure equally, even if he performs action, he is not bound down. Beyond attachment, free 196 and with a mind established in knowledge, when he performs action for a yajna alone, 197 everything is destroyed. 198 The receptacles used for offerings 199 are the brahman. The oblations are the brahman. In the fire that is the brahman, the offerer, who is the brahman, performs the sacrifice. He who sees thus and is immersed in the brahman in all action attains the brahman alone as a destination.

  ‘“‘Other yogis perform divine yajnas. 200 Others use the yajna as an offering to the fire that is the brahman. 201 Others offer senses like hearing as offerings to the fire that is self-control. 202 Others offer sounds and other objects to the fire that is the senses. 203 Others offer all action of the senses 204 and action of the breath of life 205 as offerings to the fire of self-control, 206 lit up through knowledge. Some use the yajna of offering gifts, others use the yajna of penance. Some use the yajna of yoga and still others, firm in their resolve and careful, use the yajna of knowledge. 207 Others offer the prana breath in the apana breath 208 and the apana breath in the prana breath. 209

  Others restrain the flow of the prana and apana breath and practise pranayama. 210 Others control their food and offer the senses to the breath of life. 211 All these, learned in the yajnas, become sinless through yajnas. The leftovers 212 of sacrifices are like amrita and those who partake of these attain the eternal brahman. O best of the Kuru lineage! Those who don’t perform yajnas have no existence in this world, forget other worlds. Many yajnas of this type are prescribed in the brahman’s mouth. 213 Know them all to be the outcome of action. Knowing this, you will attain liberation. O scorcher of foes! A yajna performed with knowledge is superior to a yajna full of objects. 214 O Partha! All actions and their fruit end in knowledge. Attain that knowledge by prostrating, questioning and serving. The wise, those who are versed with the truth, will instruct you in wisdom. O Pandava! Knowing that, you will never fall prey to this kind of delusion again. Through this, you will see all the beings in your atman and then in me. Even if you are a greater sinner than all the other sinners, you will cross all oceans of sin with the boat of knowledge alone. O Arjuna! Like a raging fire burns to ashes pieces of wood, like that, the fire of knowledge burns all action to ashes. In this world, there is nothing as pure as knowledge. With the passage of time, he who is accomplished in yoga, himself attains that 215 within his heart. Knowledge is attained by the faithful, the unwavering and those who control their senses. Having attained knowledge, they quickly achieve supreme peace. The ignorant, the faithless and the doubting are destroyed. For the doubting person, this world, other worlds and happiness don’t exist. O Dhananjaya! He who has offered up all action through yoga and he who has used knowledge to slice away doubt, actions cannot bind such a person—who is focused on the atman. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Therefore, use the sword of knowledge to slice away this doubt in your heart, resulting from your own ignorance. Follow yoga! Arise!’”’

  Chapter 887(27) 216

  ‘“Arjuna said, ‘O Krishna! You are asking me to give up all action and you are also asking me to practise yoga. 217 Between these two, tell me decidedly which one is better.’ 218

  ‘“The lord said, ‘Renunciation and action both lead to liberation. But of these two, karma yoga is superior to renunciation of action. O mighty-armed one! He who does not desire and he who does not hate, know him to be a perpetual sannyasi. 219 Freed from opposites, 220 he is happily freed from bondage. The ignorant, 221 not the wise, speak of renunciation and action as distinct. 222 If one of these is followed properly, the fruits of both result. Whatever place is attained by the followers of knowledge is also attained by those who practise action. He truly sees, who sees renunciation and action as identical. O mighty-armed one! Without action, renunciation is only the cause of unhappiness. 223 The sage who uses yoga attains the brahman quickly. He who practises yoga, he who is pure of heart, he who ha
s controlled his body, he who has controlled his senses, he who sees his own atman in the atman of all beings, he is not tied down, even if he performs action. The wise who follow yoga know that they are not doing anything even when they see, hear, touch, smell, eat, go, dream 224 or breathe, speak, discard, accept, open and close. 225 They think of the senses circulating among the senses. 226 He who establishes himself in the brahman 227 and giving up attachment, performs action, is not touched by sin, like water on the leaf of a lotus. To purify their hearts, yogis give up attachment 228 and perform action only with their bodies, minds, intellect and senses. Attached to yoga and discarding attachment to fruits of action, they attain perpetual peace. 229 Those who do not follow yoga and are attached to fruits because of desire remain in bondage. Discarding all action through his mind, 230 the person who controls his body, the city with the nine gates, 231 remains in happiness. He doesn’t do anything himself. Nor does he cause anyone to do anything. The atman 232 doesn’t create ownership in the body, nor action. Nor does it create a relation with the fruits of action. Nature 233 acts. The omnipresent lord doesn’t accept the sins or the good deeds of anybody. Knowledge is shrouded in ignorance. That is why beings are deluded. But in those in whom that ignorance has been destroyed by the knowledge of the atman, in them that knowledge expresses the great truth, 234 like the sun. Those whose intellect is focused on that, 235 egos are focused on that, devotion is focused on that and adherence is focused on that, those in whom sins have been destroyed through knowledge, those beings are not reborn. 236 The wise look equally upon a brahmana who is learned and humble, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste. 237 Those whose minds are established in equality overcome the earth in this world. 238 Because the brahman is equal and without fault, therefore, they 239 remain established in the brahman. Established in the brahman, such a person learned in the brahman, is poised in intellect and without delusion, not delighted at receiving something pleasant, or agitated at receiving something unpleasant. Unattached to external objects, his mind focused on the brahman, he obtains the happiness that vests in the atman. He enjoys eternal bliss. Pleasures from touch 240 have a beginning and an end and are the reason for unhappiness. O Kounteya! The wise person does not obtain pleasure from these. In this, 241 before giving up the body, he who can tolerate the forces of desire and anger is a yogi and such a man is happy. He whose happiness is inside, 242 he whose pleasure is inside and he whose light is inside, that yogi alone has realized the brahman and obtains liberation in the brahman. Those who are without sin, without doubt, controlled in mind and engaged in the welfare of all beings, such rishis attain liberation in the brahman. Freed from desire and anger, controlled in mind and knowing the atman, such sages attain liberation in the brahman all around them. 243 Banishing external objects of touch from the mind, focusing the eyes between the two eyebrows, controlling the prana and the apana breath equally within the nose, 244 poised in the senses, mind and intellect, beyond desire, fear and anger, wishing liberation, such a sage is always free. Knowing 245 me to be the enjoyer of all yajnas and penance, the lord of all the worlds and the well-wisher of all beings, attains peace.’”’

  Chapter 888(28) 246

  ‘“The lord said, ‘An ascetic 247 and a yogi is he who performs prescribed action without attachment to the fruits of the action, not someone who gives up sacrifices 248 and action. O descendant of the Pandu lineage! What is known as asceticism, know that to be yoga. Because without giving up desire, no one can become a yogi. For a sage desirous of ascending to yoga, action is said to be the means. For a person who has ascended to yoga, tranquillity 249 is said to be the means. When a person who gives up desire loses addiction to sensual outcomes and is also not attached to action, then he is said to have ascended to yoga. Use the atman to raise the atman. Do not lower the atman. The atman is the atman’s friend and the atman is the atman’s enemy. 250 The atman which has been used to conquer the atman is the atman’s friend. For someone who has failed to control the atman, the atman harms like an enemy. For someone who has controlled the atman 251 and is tranquil, 252 the paramatman 253 is undisturbed with cold, warmth, happiness, unhappiness and respect and disrespect. He whose atman is satiated with knowledge, 254 who is undisturbed and has conquered his senses, and he who looks upon a lump of earth, stone and gold equally, is said to be yogi who has achieved union. Equal in treatment towards well-wisher, colleague, 255 enemy, neutral, 256 arbiter, a hateful person, friend 257 and a righteous person or a sinner, he 258 is superior.

  ‘“‘Seated in a secluded place, alone, controlled in mind and body, without desire, without receiving and giving, 259 a yogi should always try to pacify his atman. In a pure place that is not too high and not too low, unmoving, he will place his seat, cloth and hide on kusha grass. 260 There, focusing the intellect, controlling the action of the mind and the senses, seated on that seat, he will practise yoga to purify the atman. Still, body, head and neck erect and unmoving, gazing at the tip of one’s nose 261 and not looking in any other direction. Tranquil in the atman, without fear, established in the rite of brahmacharya, controlling the mind and uniting the intellect with me, immerse yourself in me. In this way, the yogi will always pacify the atman and be unwavering in his mind, and established in me, will attain supreme and peaceful liberation. O Arjuna! He who eats too much cannot achieve yoga. Nor he who doesn’t eat at all. Nor he who sleeps too much or stays awake too much. He who is measured in food and movement, measured in effort towards action, measured in sleep and awakening. For him, yoga destroys unhappiness. When the intellect is specially controlled and established in the atman, in that situation, indifferent towards all desire, yoga is said to have been achieved. For a yogi whose intellect is controlled and the atman is united, know the simile to be a lamp that doesn’t flicker in a place where there is no wind. When the mind is controlled and rendered inactive through the practice of yoga, when the atman sees the atman in the atman and is satiated. 262 When he 263 feels the extreme bliss that is beyond the senses and realized through the intellect, undisturbed from truth. 264 Obtaining that, not 265 thinking other gains to be superior to this. Established in that, not disturbed even by great unhappiness. Know this, without any contact with unhappiness, to be yoga. Without hopelessness, 266 one must practise that yoga with perseverance. Forsaking in entirety all desire that results from wishes, 267 using the mind itself to restrain the senses from everything, using concentrated intellect to gradually withdraw, establishing the mind in the atman and thinking about nothing, 268 withdrawing from whatever the fickle and restless mind veers towards, withdrawing it from that, bring it under the control of the atman. Tranquil in mind, having pacified the rajas quality, without sin, 269 having attained the brahman, the yogi achieves supreme happiness. Like that, always concentrating on the atman, the pure yogi easily obtains intense bliss from proximity to the brahman. The person immersed in yoga looks on everything equally and sees the atman in all beings and all beings in the atman. He sees me everywhere and everything in me. I am never invisible to him. Nor is he invisible to me. He is based in equality and worships me, I who am present in everything. Wherever that yogi is, he is established in me. O Arjuna! He who compares 270 with his own self and regards happiness and unhappiness in everything 271 equally, that yogi is supreme, according to me.’

  ‘“Arjuna said, ‘O Madhusudana! Because of restlessness, 272 I don’t see the yoga based on equality that you have propounded as permanent. O Krishna! The mind is restless and the senses strong and firm. Therefore, I think restraining it is as difficult as the wind.’ 273

  ‘“The lord said, ‘O mighty-armed one! There is no doubt that the mind is restless and difficult to control. But O Kounteya! Through practice and detachment, it can be restrained. My view is that yoga is difficult for someone whose mind is uncontrolled. But it is possible to achieve for someone whose mind is controlled and who makes special effort.’

  ‘“Arjuna said, ‘O Krishna! A person who has faithfully practised yoga, but
later becomes careless and his mind deviates from yoga, cannot achieve liberation through yoga. What happens to him? O mighty-armed one! Distracted from the path of attaining the brahman, such a wavering person is dislodged from both, 274 like a torn cloud. Doesn’t he perish? O Krishna! I have this doubt that only you can completely eliminate. Because there is no one other than you who can remove this doubt.’