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Yoga Vasistha in Poem

Chapter III (...continued)

15. The Story of the Three Non-Existent Princes

The Story

A nanny once narrated this story
To a young boy who listened attentively
Of a city of yore which did not exist
In which there were three brave princes
Of three princes two were unborn
The third had not been conceived
Since all their relatives died somehow
They left the city to go elsewhere
The heat of the sun was unbearable
Hot sands burnt their feet severely
They hastened to the shade of three trees
Two did not exist, the third was unplanted
In the cool shade they rested awhile
Eating the fruits they felt refreshed
Then proceeded to the bank of three rivers
Two were dry, third had no water
The princes had a most refreshing bath
Quenched their thirst and continued on
Towards a huge city yet to be built
Entering, they beheld three palaces
Two palaces has not been built
No walls did the third one have
They found all three most beautiful
And joyfully entered them
Gold plates they found in the palaces
Two broken, the third had been pulverized
Using the third pulverized plate
They cooked 99 minus 100 grains of rice
Three holy men they invited to dine
Two were bodiless, the third had no mouth
After they ate, the princes ate the rest
Greatly pleased by the experience
They lived there for a long time
In peace and joy in the palaces
Two of which had not been built
The third was without any walls
"Remember this well and you will be wise"
Said the nanny to the little boy
Who was thrilled to hear such story
Really creation is no more than this

Vasistha's Insight

The world we see is a notion too
Not different at all from the story
In consciousness once did it arise
An idea of creation—this is what it is
This world is nothing but an idea
All that you see are ideas too
Reject the errors—dirt in the mind
Be free of ideas—abide in truth peacefully

The Fire of Self-Inquiry

The wise are not deluded by ideas
Fools succumb to ideas—get deluded
Egotism is an idea based on association
Of the self with bodies and physical elements
When infinite consciousness alone exists
Egotism is just like water in a mirage
Abandon your baseless imperfect vision
Rest in perfect vision grounded in truth
Inquire directly into the nature of truth
Abandon falsehood knowing for yourself
You are free just now—why for do you grieve
Who can bind the infinite and just how?
Brahman is divisionless existence
What is bondage or liberation?
Confusion of appearance with reality
Sorrow and pain is based on this ignorance
Let the body fall, rise or go somewhere
How are you affected by any of this?
Know the relationship of self and body
To be like that of the wind and clouds
Wind is one with space when clouds disperse
Self is not destroyed when the body falls
Mind too remains until it is burnt
In the fire of self-knowledge by realization
Death is a veiling by time and space
Of the ever present deathless self
Abandon all your latent tendencies
And come out of this cage and be free
Hard to destroy latent tendencies
Though they give endless sorrow and grief
Though born of deep-rooted ignorance
The fire of self-inquiry can bring their end
All effort at self-inquiry does purify
The mind's dirt born of ignorance
Seek the Self in order to dissolve the self
'Tis the supreme goal—strive for this

The Mind Spread Out

Manifesting in infinite consciousness
Mind by its nature has spread itself out
It distorts all that appears to be
And lies claim to everything too
Mind creates and destroys the world
All in the blink of an eye
Playing the part of one and all
As an actor playing different roles
It makes the unreal appear as real
Causing confusion, joy and suffering
Asserting its claim on all it sees
And suffering when this is untenable
Just as time with its changing seasons
Is able to bring about change in nature
So also the mind by its power of thought
Makes things appear different though they are not
Time, space and all things the mind controls
Regardless of whether it is big or small
The intensity or dullness of the influenced
'Tis not incapable of doing anything at all
O Rama listen most attentively
To another ancient legend I will narrate
To illustrate further this very point
Listen carefully to the Story of Lavana

 

 

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