9504115 yoga vasishtha transl mitra introduction
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Yoga VasishthaMaharamayana
Yoga Vasishtha Maharamayana is a large, remarkable classical Indian text of philosophy,illustrated by stories and similes.
The only complete English translation is by V.L. Mitra (1891).It is currently being prepared for publication in the public domain at theProject Gutenberg/Distributed Proofreaders (www.pgdp.net).
This file contains the preface, introductory chapters and the table of contents of vol. 1,as proofreading round 2 (P2).
In the introduction there is much Devanagari text. This has temporarily been replaced by
[****]. (In the first few instances in the Preface Devanagari text is shown).
The rest of Yoga Vasishtha has been uploaded separately.
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THE
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YOGA-VASISHTHAMAHARAMAYANA
OF
VALMIKI
Vol. 1
Containing
The Vairagya, Mumukshu, Prakarnas[**Prakaranas] andThe Utpatti Khanda to Chapter L.
Translated from the original SanskritByVIHARI-LALA MITRA
-----File: 003.png---------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE.
In this age of the cultivation of universal learningand its investigation into the deep recesses of thedead languages of antiquity, when the literati of bothcontinents are so sedulously employed in exploringthe rich and almost inexhaustible mines of the ancientliterature of this country, it has given an impetus tothe philanthropy of our wise and benign Government
to the institution of a searching enquiry into the sacred
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language of this land. And when the restorationof the long lost works of its venerable sages andauthors through the instrumentality of the greatest
bibliomaniac savants and linguists in the several Presidencies,[*]has led the literary Asiatic Societies of theEast and West to the publication of the rarest andmost valuable Sanskrit Manuscripts, it cannot bedeemed preposterous in me to presume, to lay beforethe Public a work of no less merit and sanctity thanany hitherto published.
The Yoga Vasishtha is the earliest work on Yogaor Speculative and Abstruse philosophy delivered bythe venerable Vedic sage Vasishtha to his royalpupil Rma; the victor of Rvana, and hero of the
* Dr. Rajendra Lala Mitra in Bengal, Benares and Orissa; Dr. Buhlerin Guzrat; Dr. Keilhorn in the Central Provinces; Dr. Burnell and otherCollectors of Sanskrit manuscripts in the Presidencies of Bombay, Madras
andOudh, whose notices and catalogues have highly contributed to bring thehidden treasures of the literature of this country to light.-----File: 004.png---------------------------------------------------------first Epic Rmyana, and written in the language ofVlmiki, the prime bard in pure Sanskrit, the authorof that popular Epic, and Homer of India. It embodiesin itself the Loci Communes or common places
relating to the science of Ontology, the knowledge ofSat--Real Entity, and Asat--Unreal Non-entity; theprinciples of Psychology or doctrines of the Passionsand Feelings; the speculations of Metaphysics indwelling upon our cognition, volition and other facultiesof the Mind () and the tenets,of Ethics and practical morality (). Besidesthere are a great many precepts on Theology, and the
nature of the Divinity (), and discourses
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on Spirituality and Theosophy (); alldelivered in the form of Plato's Dialogues between thesages, and tending to the main enquiry concerning the
true felicity, final beatitude or Summum bonum ()of all true philosophy.
These topics have singly and jointly contributed tothe structure of several separate Systems of Scienceand Philosophy in succeeding ages, and have formedthe subjects of study both with the juvenile and senileclasses of people in former and present times, and I
may say, almost among all nations in all countriesthroughout the civilized world.
It is felt at present to be a matter of the highestimportance by the native community at large, to repressthe growing ardour of our youth in politicalpolemics and practical tactics, that are equally perniciousto and destructive of the felicity of their tem-*
-----File: 005.png---------------------------------------------------------poral and future lives, by a revival of the humbleinstructions of their peaceful preceptors of old, andreclaiming them to the simple mode of life led bytheir forefathers, from the perverted course now gainingground among them under the influence of Westernrefinement. Outward peace () with internal tranquility() is the teaching of our Sastras,and these united with contentment () and indifferenceto worldly pleasures (), were believedaccording to the tenets of Yoga doctrines, to formthe perfect man,--a character which the Aryans haveinvariably preserved amidst the revolutions of ages andempires. It is the degeneracy of the rising generation,however, owing to their adoption of foreign habits andmanners from an utter ignorance of their own moral
code, which the publication of the present work is
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intended to obviate.
From the description of the Hindu mind given by
Max Muller[**Mller] in his History of the Ancient Literatureof India (p. 18) it will appear, that the esoteric faithof the Aryan Indian is of that realistic cast as thePlatonic, whose theory of ontology viewed all existence,even that of the celestial bodies, with theirmovements among the precepta of sense, and markedthem among the unreal phantoms () or vainmirage, () as the Hindu calls them, that are
interesting in appearance but useless to observe. Theymay be the best of all precepta, but fall very short ofthat perfection, which the mental eye contemplates in itsmeditation-yoga. The Hindu Yogi views the visibleworld exactly in the same light as Plato has repre-*-----File: 006.png---------------------------------------------------------*sented it in the simile commencing the seventh bookof his Republic. He compares mankind to prisoners
in a cave, chained in one particular attitude, so as tobehold only an evervarying multiplicity of shadows,projected through the opening of the cave upon thewall before them, by certain unseen realities behind.The philosopher alone, who by training or inspirationis enabled to turn his face from these visions, andcontemplate with his mind, that can see at-once theunchangeable reality amidst these transient shadows.
The first record that we have of Vasishtha is, thathe was the author of the 7th Mandala of the RigVeda (Ashtaka v. 15-118). He is next mentioned asPurohita or joint minister with Viswmitra to kingSudsa, and to have a violent contest with his rivalfor the ([****]) or ministerial office (Mull.[**Mll.] Hist. S. Lit.page 486, Web. Id. p. 38). He is said to have accompanied
the army of Sudsa, when that king is said to
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[****]
"The Rishis do not see Indra clearly, but Vasishtha
saw him. Indra said, I will tell you, O Brhman, sothat all men who are born, will have a Vasishtha forhis Purohita" (Max Mull.[**Mll.] Ans. Sans. Lit. p. 92.Web. Id. p. 123). This will show that the Sloka works,which are attributed to Vasishtha, Yjnavalkya orany other Vedic Rishi, could not be the compositionof the old Rishis, but of some one of their posterity;though they might have been propounded by the
-----File: 008.png---------------------------------------------------------eldest sages, and then put to writing by oral communicationor successive tradition by a distant descendantor desciple[**disciple] of the primitive Rishis. Thus we see theDrhyyana Sutras of the Sama Veda is also calledthe Vasishtha Sutras, from the author's family nameof Vasishtha (Web. Id. p. 79). The svalyana GrihyaSutra assigns some other works to Vasishtha, viz.;[**,]
the Vasishtha pragth, probably Vashishtha[**Vasishtha?] Hymniof Bopp; the Pavamnya, Kshudra sukta, Mahsukta&c. written in the vedic style. There are two otherworks attributed to Vasishtha, the Vasishtha Sanhiton Astronomy (Web. Id. p. 258) and the VasishthaSmriti on Law (Web. Id. p. 320), which from theircompositions in Sanscrit slokas, could not be the languageor work of the Vedic Rishi, but of some one late member
of that family. Thus our work of Yoga Vasishtha has noclaim or pretension to its being the composition of theVedic sage; but as one propounded by the sage, andwritten by Vlmiki in his modern sanscrit[**Sanskrit]. Here thequestion is whether Vasishtha the preceptor of Rma,was the Vedic Vasishtha or one of his descendants, Imust leave for others to determine.
Again in the later ranyaka period we have an
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account of a theologian Vasishtha given in the rshik-*opanishad;as holding a dialogue on the nature of tmor soul between the sages, Viswmitra, Jamadagni,
Bharadwja, Gautama and himself; when Vasishthaappealing to the opinion of Kapila obtained theirassent (Weber Id. p. 162). This appears very probablyto be the theological author of our yoga, and eminentabove his contemporaries in his knowledge of the-----File: 009.png---------------------------------------------------------Kapila yoga sstra which was then current, fromthis sage's having been a contemporary with king
Sagara, a predecessor of Rama.
In the latest Stra period we find a passage in theGrihya-Stra[**Stra]-parisishta, about the distinctive mark ofthe Vasishtha Family from those of the other parishadsor classes of the priesthood. It says;
[****]
[****]
"The Vasishthas wear a braid (lock of hair) on theright side, the treyas wear three braids, the Angirashave five braids, the Bhrigus are bald, and all othershave a single crest," (Muller[**Mller] Id. p. 53). The Karmapradpa says, "the Vasishthas exclude meat from theirsacrifice; [****] (Muller[**Mller] A.
S. Lit. p. 54), and the colour of their dress was white(Id. p. 483). Many Vasishthas are named in differentworks as; [****][****][****], and some others,bearing no other connection with our author, thanthat of their having been members of the same family(Muller's[**Mller's] A. S. Lit. p. 44).
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Without dilating any longer with further accountsrelating to the sage Vasishtha of which many moremight be gathered from various sastras, I shall add in
the conclusion the following notice which is taken ofthis work by Professor Monier Williams in his workon Indian Wisdom p. 370.
"There is"[**,] says he, "a remarkable work calledVasishtha Rmyana or Yoga Vsishtha or Vasishtha-----File: 010.png---------------------------------------------------------Mahrmyana in the form of an exhortation, with
illustrative narratives addressed by Vasishtha to hispupil the youthful Rma, on the best means ofattaining true happiness, and considered to have beencomposed as an appendage to the Rmyana byVlmiki himself. There is another work of the samenature called the Adhytma Rmyana which is attributedto Vysa, and treat of the moral and theologicalsubjects connected with the life and acts of that great
hero of Indian history. Many other works are extantin the vernacular dialects having the same theme fortheir subject which it is needless to notice in this place."
Vasishtha, known as the wisest of sages, likeSolomon the wisest of men, and Aurelius the wisestof emperors, puts forth in the first part and in themouth of Rma the great question of the vanity of
the world, which is shown synthetically to a greatlength from the state of all living existences, theinstinct, inclinations, and passions of men, the natureof their aims and objects, with some discussions aboutdestiny, necessity, activity and the state of the souland spirit. The second part embraces various directionsfor the union of the individual with the universalAbstract Existence--the Supreme Spirit--the subjective
and the objective truth--and the common topics
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of all speculative philosophy.
Thus says Milton;[**:] "The end of learning is to know
God"[**.]
So the Persian adage, "Akhiral ilm buad ilmi Khod."
Such also the Sanskrit, "Svidy tan matir yay."
And the sruti says, "Yad jntw nparan jnnam."
i. e. "It is that which being known, there is nothingelse required to be known."-----File: 011.png---------------------------------------------------------[** pages compared to printed book]
CONTENTSOFTHE FIRST VOLUME.
PROLEGOMENA.
PROL. PAGE
1. The Yoga Philosophy 1
2. The Om Tat Sat 34
VAIRGYA KHANDA.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
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SECTION I. PAGEDivine Adoration 1 [** number is in original]
SECTION II. Narrative of Sutkshna 1
SECTION III.Anecdote of Krunya 2
SECTION IV.Story of Suruchi 3
SECTION V.Account of Arishtanemi 3-----File: 012.png---------------------------------------------------------
SECTION VI. PAGE.History of Rma 6
CHAPTER II.Reason of writing the Rmyana 8
SECTION IPersons entitled to its Perusal 8
SECTION II.Brahm's Behest 9
SECTION III.Inquiry of Bharadwja 10
CHAPTER III.Vlmki's Admonition 12
SECTION I.
On True Knowledge 13
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SECTION II.Early History of Rma 13
SECTION III.Rma's Pilgrimage 15
CHAPTER IV.Rama's Return from Pilgrimage 17
CHAPTER V.
Of Rma's Self-Dejection and its Cause 19
CHAPTER VI.Advent of Viswmitra to the Royal Court 21
SECTION II.Address of King-Dasaratha 24-----File: 013.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER VII. PAGE.Viswmitra'a Request for Rma 26
CHAPTER VIII.Dasaratha's Reply to Viswmitra 29
CHAPTER IX.
Viswmitra's Wrath and his Enraged Speech 33
CHAPTER X.Melancholy of Rma 36
CHAPTER XI.Consolation of Rma 41
CHAPTER XII.
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Rma's Reply 45
CHAPTER XIII.
Vituperation of Riches 48
CHAPTER XIV.Depreciation of Human Life 50
CHAPTER XV.Obloquy of Egoism 53
CHAPTER XVI.The Ungovernableness of the Mind 56
CHAPTER XVII.On Cupidity 59
CHAPTER XVIII.Obloquy of the Body 64
-----File: 014.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIX. PAGE[**"."?]Blemishes of Boyhood 70
CHAPTER XX.Vituperation of youth 73
CHAPTER XXI.Vituperation of Women 77
CHAPTER XXII.Obloquy of Old Age 81
CHAPTER XXIII.Vicissitudes of Times 85
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CHAPTER XXIV.Ravages of Time 90
CHAPTER XXV.Sports of Death 91
CHAPTER XXVI.The Acts of Destiny 95
CHATER XXVII.Vanity of the World 100
CHAPTER XXVIII.Mutability of the World 105
CHAPTER XXIX.Unreliableness of Worldly Things 109
CHAPTER XXX.
Self-Disparagement 112-----File: 015.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXI. PAGE.
Queries of Rma 115
CHAPTER XXXII.
Praises of Rma's Speech 118
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Association of Aerial and Earthly Beings 121
BOOK II.
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CHAPTER IX. PAGE.
Investigation of Acts 157
CHAPTER X.
Descension of Knowledge 161
CHAPTER XI.
On the qualifications of the Inquirer and Lecturer 166
CHAPTER XII.
Greatness of True Knowledge 173
CHAPTER XIII.
On Peace and Tranquility of mind 176
CHAPTER XIV.
On the Ascertainment of an argument 184
CHAPTER XV.
On Contentment 189
CHAPTER XVI.
On Good Conduct 191
CHAPTER XVII.
On the Contents of the Work 195
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CHAPTER XVIII.
Ascertainment of the Example or Major Proposition 201
CHAPTER XIX.
Ascertainment of True Evidence 208
CHAPTER XX.
On Good Conduct 212
-----File: 017.png---------------------------------------------------------
BOOK III.
UTPATTI KHANDA.
EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD.
CHAPTER I.
CAUSES OF BONDAGE TO IT.
SECTION I. PAGE.Exordium 215
SECTION II.
Worldly Bondage 216
SECTION III.Phases of The Spirit 216
SECTION IV. Nature of Bondage 218
CHAPTER II.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST CAUSE.
SECTION I.Narrative of the Air-born and Aeriform Brhman 223
SECTION II.State of the Soul 224
CHAPTER III.Causes of Bondage in the Body 229
CHAPTER IV.
SECTION I.Description of the Night-Fall 234-----File: 018.png---------------------------------------------------------
SECTION II. PAGE.
Nature of the Mind 237
SECTION III.
Kaivalya or Mental Abstraction 239
CHAPTER V.
On the Original Cause 243
CHAPTER VI.
Admonition for attempt of Liberation 246
CHAPTER VII.
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Recognition of the Nihility of the Phenomenal World 249
CHAPTER VIII.
Nature of good Sstras 255
CHAPTER IX.
On the Supremo cause of All 237
CHAPTER X.
Description of the Chaotic State 266
CHAPTER XI.
Spiritual View of Creation 273
CHAPTER XII.
The Idealistic Theo-Cosmogony of Vednta 277
CHARTER XIII.
On the Production of the Self-Born 281
CHAPTER XIV.
Establishment of Brahma 288
CHAPTER XV.
Story of the Temple and its Prince 299-----File: 019.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVI. PAGE.
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Joy and Grief of the Princess 303
CHAPTER XVII.
Story of the Doubtful Realm or Reverie of Ll 309
SECTION I.Description of the Court House and the Cortes 313
CHAPTER XVIII.Exposure of the Errors of this World 315
CHAPTER XIX.Story of a Former Vasishtha and his Wife 319
CHAPTER XX.The Moral of the Tale of Ll 322
SECTION II.State of The Human Soul after Death 325
CHAPTER XXI.Guide to Peace 328
CHAPTER XXII.Practice of Wisdom or Wisdom in Practice 336
SECTION I.
Abandonment of Desires 336
SECTION II.On the Practice of Yoga 338
CHAPTER. XXIIIThe Aerial Journey of Spiritual Bodies 340
CHAPTER XXIV.
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The Aerial Journey (continued) 342-----File: 020.png---------------------------------------------------------
SECTION II. PAGE.
Description of the Heavens 343
CHAPTER XXV.
Description of the Earth 349
CHAPTER XXVI.
Meeting the Siddhas 353
CHAPTER XXVII.
Past lives of Ll 359
CHAPTER XXVIII.
SECTION I.
Exposition of Ll's Vision 365
SECTION II.
Description of the Mountainous Habitation 366
CHAPTER XXIX.
Account of the Previous Life of Ll 372
CHAPTER XXX.
Description of the Mundane Egg 378
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CHAPTER XXXI.
SECTION I.
Alighting of the Ladies on Earth 382
SECTION II.
Sight of a Battle Array in Earth and Air 383
CHAPTER XXXII.
Onset of the War 386
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Commingled Fighting 389-----File: 021.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XXXIV.Description of the Battle 392
CHAPTER XXXV.Description of the Battlefield 398
CHAPTER XXXVI.
SECTION I.Collision of Equal Arms and Armigerents 401
SECTION II.Catalogue[**Catalog] of the Forces 403
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Catalogue[**Catalog] of the Forces (Continued) 408
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.Cessation of the War 414
CHAPTER XXXIX.Description of The Battle-Field Infested by Noccurnal[**Nocturnal] Fiends 420
CHAPTER XL.Reflections on Human Life and Mind 423
CHAPTER XLI.Discrimination of Error 431
CHAPTER XLII.Philosophy of Dreaming 439
CHAPTER XLIII.Burning of the City 442
CHAPTER XLIV.Spiritual Interpretation of the Vision 443-----File: 022.png---------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XLV.
Theism consisting in True Knowledge 454
CHAPTER XLVI.Onslaught of Vidratha 457
CHAPTER XLVII.Encounter of Sindhu and Vidratha 461
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Description of Daivstras or Supernatural Weapons 465
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CHAPTER XLIX.Description of other kinds of Weapons 473
CHAPTER L.Death of Vidratha 477
Conclusion 482-----File: 023.png---------------------------------------------------------
THE YOGA PHILOSOPHY.
The Yoga or contemplative philosophy of the Hindus, isrich, exuberent[**exuberant], grand and sublime, in as much as itcomprehendswithin its ample sphere and deep recesses of meditation, allthat is of the greatest value, best interest and highest importanceto mankind, as physical, moral, intellectual and spiritual beings--aknowledge of the cosmos--of the physical and intellectual
worlds.
It is rich in the almost exhaustless treasure of works existingon the subject in the sacred and vernacular languages of thecountry both of ancient and modern times. It is exuberent[**exuberant] inthe profusion of erudition and prolixity of ingenuity displayedin the Yoga philosophy of Patanjala[**Patanjali], commensurate with theextraordinary calibre[**caliber] of the author in his commentary of the
Mahbhshya on Pnini (Muller's[**Mller's] A. S. Lit. p. 235). Itsgrandeur is exhibited in the abstract and abstruse reflections andinvestigations of philosophers in the intellectual and spiritualworlds as far as human penetration has been able to reach. Andits sublimity is manifested in its aspiring disquisition into thenature of the human and divine souls, which it aims to unitewith the one self-same and all pervading spirit.
It has employed the minds of gods, sages, and saints, and
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even those of heroes and monarchs, to the exaltation of theirnatures above the rest of mankind, and elevation of their dignitiesto the rank of gods, as nothing less than a godly nature
can approach and approximate that of the All-perfect Divinity.So says Plato in his Phaedras;[**:] "To contemplate these thingsis the privilege of the gods, and to do so is also the aspirationof the immortal soul of man generally; though only in a fewcases is such aspiration realized."
The principal gods Brohm[**Brahm] and Siva are represented as Yogis,the chief sages Vysa, Vlmiki, Vasishtha and Yjnavalkya
-----File: 024.png---------------------------------------------------------were propounders of Yoga systems; the saints one and all wereadepts in Yoga; the heroes Rma and Krishna Were initiatedin it, and the kings Dasaratha and Janaka and their fellowprince Buddha were both practitioners and preceptors of Yoga.Mahomed[**Mohammed] held his nightly communions with God and hisangels,and Jesus often went over the hills--there to pray and contemplate.
Socrates had his demon to communicate with, and infact every man has his genius with whom he communes on allmatters. All this is Yoga, and so is all knowledge derived byintuition, inspiration and revelation, said to be the result ofYoga.
II. SCIENCE CONNECTED WITH YOGA
The yoga philosophy, while it treats of a variety of subjects,is necessarily a congeries, of many sciences in itself. It is theHindu form of metaphysical argument for the existence of the'One Eternal'--the Platonic "Reality." It is ontology in asmuch as it teaches a priori the being of God. It is psychologyin its treatment of the doctrine of feelings and passions, andit is morality in teaching us to keep them under control as brutal
propensities, for the sake of securing our final emancipation and
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ultimate restoration into the spirit of spirits. Thus it partakesof the nature of many sciences in treating of the particularsubject of divinity.
The Yoga in its widest sense of the application of the mindto any subject is both practical, called kriy Yoga, as also theoretical,known as Jnna Yoga; and includes in itself the twoprocesses of synthesis and analysis alike, in its combination(Yoga) of things together, and discrimination (Viveka) of onefrom the other, in its inquiry into the nature of things (Vastu-*vichra),and investigation of their abstract essence called
Satynusandhnn. It uses both the a priori (prvavat} and aposteriori (paravat) arguments to prove the existence of theworld from its Maker, and the vice versa, as indicated in thetwo aphorisms of induction and deduction Yatov imani andJanmadyasa yatah &c. It views both subjectively and objectivelythe one self in many and the many in one unto which all-----File: 025.png---------------------------------------------------------is to return, by the two mysterious formulas of So ham and
tat twam &c.
It is the reunion of detached souls with the Supreme thatis the chief object of the Yoga philosophy to effect by theaforesaid processes and other means, which we propose fully toelucidate in the following pages; and there is no soul we thinkso very reprobate, that will feel disinclined to take a deep interestin them, inorder[**in order] to effect its reunion with the main source of
its being and the only fountain of all blessings. On the contrarywe are led to believe from the revival of the yoga-cult with thespiritualists and theosophists of the present day under theteachings of Madame Blavatsky and the lectures of Col. Olcott,that the Indian public are beginning to appreciate the efficacyof Yoga meditation, and its practice gaining ground among thepious and educated men in this country.
Notwithstanding the various significations of Yoga and the
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different lights in which it is viewed by several schools, as weshall see afterwards, it is most commonly understood in thesense of the esoteric faith of the Hindus, and the occult adoration
of God by spiritual meditation. This is considered on all handsas the only means of one's ultimate liberation from the generaldoom of birth and death and the miseries of this world, and thesurest way towards the final absorption of one's-self in theSupreme,--the highest state of perfection and the Summum bonumof the Hindu. The subject of Yoga Vasishtha is no other thanthe effecting of that union of the human with the Divine Soul,amidst all the trials and tribulations of life.
III. THE YOGA OF ENGLISH WRITERS.
The yoga considered merely as a mode or system of meditationis variously described by European authors, as we shallsee below.
Moniere[**Monier] Williams says "According to Patanjali--the founderof the system, the word yoga is interpreted to mean the act of"fixing or concentration of the mind in abstract meditation.Its aim is to teach the means by which the human soul mayattain complete union with the Supreme Soul, and of effecting-----File: 026.png---------------------------------------------------------the complete fusion of the individual with the universal spiriteven in the body"[**,] Indian Wisdom p. 102.
Weber speaking of the yoga o the Atharvan Upanishads says;[**:]"It is the absortion[**absorption] in tman, the stages of this absorptionandthe external means of attaining it." Again says he;[**:] "Theyoga in the sense of union with the Supreme Being, is absorptiontherein by means of meditation. It occurs first in the latterUpanishads, especially the tenth book of the Taittirya and the
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Katha Upanishads, where the very doctrine is itselfinunciated[**enunciated]"[**,]Hist. Ind Lit p. 153-171.
Mullins in his prize essay on Vedanta says, the Sankhya yogais the union of the body and mind, p. 183. In its Vedantic view,it is the joining of the individual with the Supreme Spirit byholy communion of the one with the other through intermediategrades, whereby the limited soul may be led to approach itsunlimited fountain and lose itself in the same.
IV. YOGA-CHARACTERISTIC OF THE HINDUS.
Max Muller[**Mller] characterises the Hindu as naturally disposed toYoga or a contemplative turn of his mind for his final beatitudein the next life, amidst all his cares, concerns and callings inthis world, which he looks upon with indifference as the transientshadows of passing clouds, that serve but to dim for a moment
but never shut out from his view the full blaze of his luminousfuturity. This description is so exactly graphic of the Hindumind, that we can not with-hold giving it entire as a mirror ofthe Hindu mind to our readers on account of the scarcity of thework in this country.
"The Hindu" says he "enters the world as a stranger; all histhoughts are directed to another world, he takes no part even
where he is driven to act, and even when he sacrifices his life, itis but to be delivered from it." Again "They shut their eyes tothis world of outward seeming activity, to open them full on theworld of thought and rest. Their life was a yarning[**yearning] foreternity;their activity was a struggle to return to that divine essence fromwhich this life seemed to have severed them. Believing as they-----File: 027.png---------------------------------------------------------
did in a really existing and eternal Being to ontos-onton they could
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not believe in the existence of this passing world"[**.]
"If the one existed, the other could only seem to exist;
if they lived in the one they could not live in the other. Theirexistence on earth was to them a problem, their eternal lifea certainty. The highest object of their religion was torestore that bond by which their own self (tman) was linkedto the eternal self (paramtman); to recover that unity whichhad been clouded and obscured by the magical illusions ofreality, by the so-called My of creation."
"It scarcely entered their mind to doubt or to affirm theimmortality of the soul (pretya-bhva). Not only their religionand literature, but their very language reminded them daily ofthat relation between the real and seeming world." (Hist A. S.Lit. p. 18). In the view of Max Muller[**Mller] as quoted above, theHindu mind would seem to be of that realistic cast as thePhatonic[**Platonic], whose theory of Ontology viewed all existence asmere
plantoms[**phantoms] and precepta of sense, and very short of thatperfection,which the mind realizes in its meditation or Yoga reveries.
The Hindu Yogi views the visible world exactly in the samelight as we have said before, that Plato has represented it in thesimile commencing the seventh book of his Republic. "Hecompares mankind to prisoners in a cave, chained in one particular
attitude, so as to behold only an ever-varying multiplicity ofshadows, projected through the opening of the cave upon thewall before them, by some unseen realities behind. The philosopheralone, who by training or inspiration, is enabled to turnhis face from these visions, and contemplate with his mind, thatcan at once see the unchangeable reality amidst these transientshadows"[**,] Baine on Realism pp. 6 and 7.
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V. VARIOUS SIGNIFICATIONS OF YOGA.
The Vchaspati lexicon gives us about fifty different meanings
of the word Yoga, according to the several branches of artor science to which it appertains, and the multifarious affairs of lifein which the word is used either singly or in composition withothers. We shall give some of them below, inorder[**in order] to prevent-----File: 028.png---------------------------------------------------------our mistaking any one of these senses for the special significationwhich the term is made to bear in our system of Yoga meditation.
The word Yoga from the root "jung" (Lat) Jungere means thejoining of any two things or numbers together. Amara Koshagives five different meanings of it as, [****][****]; the other Koshas give five others, viz., [****][****]
1. In Arithmetic it is [****] or addition, and [****]is addition and subtraction. 2. In Astronomy the conjunction
of planets and stars [****] 3. In Grammar it isthe joining of letters and words [****]--4. In Nyya itmeans the power of the parts taken together [****],[****] 5. In Mmnsa it is defined to be the forceconveyed by the united members of a sentence.
In contemplative philosophy it means; 1. According toPtanjala[**Ptanjali],--the
suppression of mental functions [****]--2.The Buddhists mean by it--the abstraction of the mind fromall objects. [****] 3. The Vedantameaning of it is--[****] the union of thehuman soul with the Supreme spirit. 4. Its meaning in theYoga system is nearly the same, i.e., the joining of the vitalspirit with the soul; [****] 5. Everyprocess of meditation is called also as Yoga. [****]
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Others again use it in senses adapted to their own views andsubjects; such as the Vaiseshika philosophy uses it to mean, thefixing of the attention to only one subject by abstracting it
from all others [****] 2. TheRmnuja sect define it as the seeking of one's particular Deity[****]
In this sense all sectarian cults are accounted as so many kindsof Yogas by their respective votaries. 3. According to someBuddhists it is the seeking of one's object of desire [****]-*[****]4. And with others, it is a search
after every desirable object. 5. In Rhetoric it means the unionof lovers [****]-----File: 029.png---------------------------------------------------------
In Medicine it means the compounding of drugs under whichhead there are many works that are at first sight mistaken for Yogaphilosophy. Again there are many compound words with Yogawhich mean only "a treatise" on those subjects, such as, works
on wisdom, on Acts, on Faith &c., are called [****], [****],[****]
Moreover the words Yoga and Viyoga are used to express thetwo processes of synthesis and analysis both in the abstract andpractical sciences for the combination and disjoining of ideas andthings.
VI. THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF YOGA.
The constituent parts and progressive steps of Yoga, are composedof a series of bodily, mental and spiritual practices, theproper exercise of which conduces to the making of a perfectman, as a moral, intellectual and spiritual being, to be unitedto his Maker in the present and future worlds. These are called
the eight stages of Yoga ([****]), of which some are external
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([****]) and others internal ([****]). The external onesare;[**:]
1st. Yama ([****]); Forbearance or restraint of passions,feelings &c., including the best moral rules in all religions.
2nd. Niyama ([****]); Particular rules and vows for theobservance of the Yogi.
3rd. Asana ([****]); sedate position of the body to helpdeep meditation.
4th. Prnyma ([****]); Suppression and suspensionof breath.
5th. Pratyhra ([****]), Restraint or control of sensesand organs.
Among the internal practices are reckoned the following; viz;[**.]
6th. Dhyna ([****]); Inward contemplation and meditation[**.]
7th. Dhran ([****]); Steadiness Of the mind in study.
8th. Samdhi ([****]), Trance[**,] the last stage of Yoga.
These again comprise some other acts under each of them,
such as;[**:]-----File: 030.png---------------------------------------------------------
I. Yama ([****]) Restraint includes five acts under it;
1st. Ahins[**Ahims] ([****]); Universal innocence or hurting noanimal creature.
2nd. Asteyam ([****]) Avoidance of theft or stealth.
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3rd. Satyam ([****]); Observance of truth.
4th. Brahmacharyam ([****]); consisting in purity andchastity.
5th. Aparigraha ([****]); Disinterestedness.
II. Niyama ([****]); Moral rules consisting of five-*foldacts. Viz.;[**:]
1st. Saucham ([****]); Personal cleanliness.
2nd. Santosha ([****]); contentment.
3rd. Tapas ([****]); Devotion including self denial and selfmortification.
4th. Sdhyya ([****]); knowledge of all nature.
5th. Pranidhna ([****]) Adoration of God.
III. Asana ([****]); Different modes of postures, tranquilposture ([****]) &c.
IV. Prnyma ([****]); Rules of Respiration, threesorts, viz.;[**:]
1st. Rechaka ([****]); Expiration or Exhalation.
2nd. Praka ([****]); Inspiration or Inhalation.
3rd. Kumbhaka ([****]); Suppression of breathing,eight ways.
V. Pratyhra ([****]) Restraining the
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senses from their gratifications in many ways.
VI. Dhyna ([****]); Abstract contemplation,
apart from the testimonies of;[:]--
1. Pratyaxa ([****]); Perceptions.
2. Pramna ([****]); Apprehensions.
3. Anumna ([****]); Inference.
4. Sabda ([****]); Verbal testimony.
VII. Dhran ([****]); Retentiveness.
VIII. Samdhi ([****]): Absorption in meditation, in twoways;-----File: 031.png---------------------------------------------------------
1. Savikalpa ([****]); With retention of self volition.
2. Nirvikalpa ([****]); With loss of volition.
The Upyas ([****]); Or the means spoken of before are;[**:]
1. Uposhana ([****]); Abstinence.
2. Mitsana ([****]); Temperance.
3. srama ([****]); Sheltered abodes.
4. Visrma ([****]) Rest and repose from labor.
5. Avarodha ([****]); Self confinement in closets.
6. Asanam ([****]); Subsistence on light food.
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Beside these there are many vices called Apyas or dshas([****]) which are obstacles to meditation, and which we
omit on account of their prolixity.
VII. NATURE OF THE SOUL.
Now as the end and aim of Yoga is the emancipation of theSoul, it is necessary to give some account of the nature of thesoul (tmatatwa) as far as it was known to the sages of India,
and formed the primary subject of inquiry with the wise men ofevery country according to the sayings;[**:] "Gnothe seauton," =
"Nosce teipsum," "Know thyself"[**,"] "Khodra bedan," and Arabic"Taalam Nafsaka," [****] &c.
"The word Atman," says Max Muller[**Mller], "which in the Vedaoccurs as often as "twan," meant life, particularly animal life
(Vide Rig Veda I. 63, 8.)[**).] Atm in the sense of self occurs also inthe Rig Veda (I. 162. 20), in the passage [****][****],[**.] It is also found to be used in the higher sense ofsoul in the verse [****] "The sun is the soul ofall that moves and rests (R. VI. 115. 1). The highest soulis called paramtman ([****]) of which all other souls partake,from which all reality in this created world emanates, and intowhich every thing will return."
Atman originally meant air as the Greek atmos, Gothic ahma,Zend tmnam, Sanscrit [****] and [****], Cuniform adam, Persiandam, whence we derive Sans [****] Hindi [****] Uria and Prakrit[****] and Bengali [****], [****] &c. The Greek and Latin egoand German ich are all derived from the same source. The-----File: 032.png---------------------------------------------------------Romance je and Hindi ji are corruptions of Sanskrit [****] meaning
life and spirit. Again the Pli [****] and the Prakrit [****]
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is from the Sanscrit [****], which is [****] in Hindi, [****] inBengali and [****] in Uria &c. The Persian "man" is evidentlythe Stman by elision of the initial syllable.
These meanings of tman = the self and ego form the basis ofthe knowledge of the Divine soul both of the Hindu as of anyother people, who from the consciousness of their own selves riseto that of the Supreme. Thus says Max Muller[**Mller] on the subject,"A Hindu speaking of himself [****] spoke also, though unconsciouslyof the soul of the universe [****], and to knowhimself, was to him to know both his own self and the Universal
soul, or to know himself in the Divine self."
We give below the different lights in which the Divine soulwas viewed by the different schools of Hindu philosophy, andadopted accordingly in their respective modes of Yoga meditation.The Upanishads called it Brahma of eternal and infinite wisdom[****]
The Vedantists;--A Being full of intelligence and blissfulness[****]
The Snkaras;--A continued consciousness of one self. [****][****] The doctrine of Descartes and Malebranche.
The Materialists--convert the soul to all material forms[****]
The Lokyatas--take the body with intelligence to be the soul;[****]
The chrvkas--call the organs and sensations as soul;[****]
Do. Another sect--take the cognitive faculties as such;
[****]
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Do. Others--Understand the mind as soul [****]
Do. Others--call the vital breath as soul [****]
Do. Others--understand the son as soul [****]-----File: 033.png---------------------------------------------------------
The Digambaras--say, the complete human body is the soul[****]
The Mdhyamikas--take the vacuum for their soul [****]-*[****]
The Yogchris--understand the soul to be a transient flashof knowledge in the spirit in meditation. [****]
The Sautrntas--call it a short inferior knowledge. [****]-*[****]
The Vaibhshikas--take it to be a momentary perception [****]
[****]
The Jainas--take their preceptor to be their soul [****]
The Logicians--A bodiless active and passive agency [****]
The Naiyyikas--understand the spirit to be self manifest[****]
The Snkhyas,--call the spirit to be passive, not active [****]
The Yogis--call Him a separate omnipotent Being [****]
The Saivas,--designate the spirit as knowledge itself [****]
The Mayvdis,--style Brahma as the soul [****]
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The Vaiseshikas,--acknowledge two souls--the Vital andSupreme [****]
The Nyay says--because the soul is immortal there is a futurestate [****]
And thus there are many other theories about the natureof the soul.
The Atmvdis--spiritualists, consider the existence of thebody as unnecessary to the existence of the soul.
-----File: 034.png---------------------------------------------------------
VIII. FINAL EMANCIPATION OR BEATITUDE.
The object of Yoga, as already said, being the emancipation ofthe soul from the miseries of the world, and its attainment toa state of highest felicity, it is to be seen what this state of felicity
is, which it is the concern of every man to know, and which theYogi takes so much pains to acquire. The Vedantic Yogi, as itis well known, aims at nothing less than in his absorption in theSupreme Spirit and loosing himself in infinite bliss. But it is notso with others, who are averse to loose the sense of their personalidentity, and look forward to a state of self existence either inthis life or next, in which they shall be perfectly happy. TheYogis of India have various states of this bliss which they aim
at according to the faith to which they belong, as we shall showbelow.
The Vedantic Yogi has two states of bliss in view; viz; theone inferior which is attained in this life by means of knowledge[****], and the other superior,obtainable after many births of gradual advancement to perfection[****]
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The Chrvkas say, that it is either independence or deaththat is bliss.
The Mdhyamikas say;[**,] it is extinction of self that is calledliberation [****]
The Vijnni philosophers--have it to be clear and elevatedunderstanding [****]
The Arhatas have it in deliverance from all veil and covering[****]
The Myvdis say, that it is removal of the error of one'sseparate existence as a particle of the Supreme spirit [****]
The Rmnujas called it to be the knowledge of Vsudeva ascause of all, [****]
The Mdhyamikas have it for the perfect bliss enjoyed by
Vishnu [****]
The Ballabhis expect it in sporting with Krishna in heaven[****]-----File: 035.png---------------------------------------------------------
The Psupatas and Mheswaras place it in the possession ofall dignity [****]
The Kplikas place it in the fond embraces of Hara andDurga [****]
The Pratyabhijnnis call it to be the perfection of the soul.[****]
The Raseswara Vdis have it in the health of body produced
by mercury [****]
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The Vaisesikas seek it in the extinction of all kinds of pain[****]
The Mimnsakas view their happiness in heavenly bliss [****]
The Sarvajnas say that, it is the continued feeling of highestfelicity [****]
The Pnini philologers find it in the powers of speech [****]
The Snkhyas find it in the union of force with matter [****]
The Udsna Atheists have it as consisting in the ignoring ofself identity [****]
The Ptanjalas view it in the unconnected unity of the soul[****]
The Persian Sufis call it zdigi or unattachment of the soulto any worldly object.
IX. ORIGIN OF YOGA IN THE VEDAS.
[Sidenote: Not in the VedicPeriod]
The origin of yoga meditation is placed at a period comparativelyless ancient than the earliest Sanhita or hynmicperiod of vedic history, when the Rishis followedthe elementary worship of the physicalforces, or the Brahmanic age when they were employed in theceremonial observances.
Some traces of it.
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There are however some traces of abstract contemplation"dhyna yoga" to be occasionally met with
in the early Vedas, where the Rishis are mentionedto have indulged themselves in such, reveries. Thus in-----File: 036.png---------------------------------------------------------the Rig Veda--129. 4. [****]
"The poets discovered in their heart; through meditation, thebond of the existing in the non-existing." M. Muller[**Mller]. A. S.Lit. (p. 19.)
The Gyatri Meditation
We have it explicitly mentioned in the Gyatr hymn of theRig Veda, which is daily recited by everyBrahman, and wherein its author Viswmitra"meditated on the glory of the Lord for theillumination of his understanding" [****] But this
bespeaks a development of intellectual meditation "jnana yoga"only, and not spiritual as there is no prayer for ([****]) liberation.
ranyaka Period.
It was in the third or ranyaka period, that the yoga camein vogue with the second class of the AtharvaUpanishads, presenting certain phases in its
successive stages, as we find in the following analysis of themgiven by Professor Weber in his History of Ancient SanskritLiterature. This class of works, he says, is chiefly made up ofsubjects relating to yoga, as consisting in divine meditation andgiving up all earthly connections. (Ibid p. 163).
Yoga Upanishads.
To this class belong the Jbla, Katha--sruti, Bhallavi, Samvartasruti,
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Sannysa, Hansa and ParamhansaUpanishads, Srimaddatta, the Mndukya andTarkopanishads, and a few others, (Ibid. p. 164). It will exceed
our bounds to give an account of the mode of yoga treated inthese treatises, which however may be easily gathered by thereader from a reference to the Fifty two Upanishads lately publishedin this city.
Their differentmodes of yoga.
Beside the above, we find mention of yoga and the variousmodes of conducting it in some other Upanishads,as given below by the same author andanalyst. The Kathopanishad or Kathavallof the Atharva Veda, treats of the first principles of DeisticYoga. Ibid. p. 158.
The Garbhopanishad speaks of the Snkhya and Ptanjala[**Ptanjali]
yoga systems as the means of knowing Nryana. (Ibid. p. 160 (.[**).]-----File: 037.png---------------------------------------------------------The Brahmoponishad[**Brahmopanishad], says Weber, belongs moreproperly to theyoga Upanishads spoken of before. (Ibid. p. 161).
The Nirlambopanishad exhibits essentially the yoga standpoint according to Dr. Rajendra Lala Mitra (Notices of S.
Mss. II 95. Weber's Id. p. 162). The yoga tatwa and yogasikh belong to yoga also, and depict the majesty of tm.(Ibid. p. 165).
Among the Sectarian Upanishads will be found the Nryanopanishad,which is of special significance in relation to theSnkhya and Yoga doctrines (Ibid. p. 166).
Snkhya and
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Ptanjala Yogas.
It is plain from the recurrence of the word Snkhya in the
later Upanishads of the Taittirya and Atharvavedas and in the Nirukta and Bhagavad Git,that the Snkhya Yoga was long known tothe ancients, and the Ptanjala was a further development of it.(Ibid. p. 137).
Yoga Yjnavalkya.
Along with or prior to Ptanjala[**Ptanjali] comes the Yoga Sstra ofYogi Yjnavalkya, the leading authority ofthe Stapatha Brhmana, who is also regardedas a main originator of the yoga doctrine in his later writings.(Ibid. p. 237). Yjnavalkya speaks of his obtaining the YogaSstra from the sun, [****]
"He who wishes to attain yoga must know the ranyaka
which I have received from the sun, and the Yoga sstra whichI have taught.[**"]
X. RISE OF THE HERITICAL[**HERETICAL] YOGAS.
The Buddhist andJain Yogas.
Beside the Orthodox yoga systems of the Upanishads, we havethe Hetrodox[**Heterodox] Yoga Sastras of the Buddhistsand Jains completely concordant with those ofYjnavalkya in the Brihad ranyaka andAtharvan Upanishads, (Weber's Id. p. 285).
The concordance
with the Vedantic.
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The points of coincidence of the vednta yoga with those ofBuddhism and Jainism, consist in as much as
both of them inculcate the doctrine of theinterminable metempsychosis of the human-----File: 038.png---------------------------------------------------------soul, as a consequence of bodily acts, previous to its state of finalabsorption or utter annihilation, according to the difference intheir respective views. Or to explain it more clearly they saythat, "The state of humanity in its present, past and futurelives, is the necessary result of its own acts "Karma" in previous
births."
The weal or woeof mankind.
That misery or happiness in this life is the unavoidable sequenceof conduct in former states of existence, andthat our present actions will determine our
states to come; that is, their weal or woe dependingsolely on the merit or demerit of acts. It is, therefore,one's cessation from action by confining himself to holy meditation,that secures to him his final absorption in the supremeaccording to the one; and by his nescience of himself that ensureshis utter extinction according to the other.
The Purnic yoga.
In the Purnic period we get ample accounts of yoga and yogis.The Kurma purana gives a string of names ofyoga teachers. The practice of yoga is frequentlyalluded to in the Vana parva of Mahbhrata. The observancesof yoga are detailed at considerable length and strenuouslyenjoined in the Udyoga parva of the said epic. Besides in moderntimes we have accounts of yogis in the Sakuntala of Klidsa
(VII. 175) and in the Mdhava Mlati of Bhava-bhti (act v.)[**.]
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The Rmayana gives an account of a Sdra yogi, and theBhgavat gta treats also of yoga as necessary to be parcticed[**practiced](chap. VI.V.13).
The Tntrika yoga
The Tantras or cabalistic works of modern times are all andevery one of them no other than yoga sastras,containing directions and formulas for the adorationof innumerable deities for the purpose of their votaries'attainment of consummation "Yoga Siddhi" through them. It
is the Tntrika yoga which is chiefly current in Bengal, thoughthe old forms may be in use in other parts of the country. It isreckoned with the heritical[**heretical] systems, because the processesandpractices of its yoga are mostly at variance with the spiritualyoga of old. It has invented many mdras or masonic signs,monograms and mysterious symbols, which are wholly unintelligi-*-----File: 039.png---------------------------------------------------------
*ble to the yogis of the old school, and has the carnal rites of thepancha-makra for immediate consummation which a spiritualistwill feel ashamed to learn (See Wilson. H. Religion).
The Hatha Yoga.
This system, which as its name implies consists of the forcedcontortions of the body inorder[** in order] to subdue the
hardy boors to quiescence, is rather a training ofthe bodys[**body] than a mental or spiritual discipline of a moral andintelligent being for the benefit of the rational soul. The votariesof this system are mostly of a vagrant and mendicant order, andsubject to the slander of foreigners, though they commandveneration over the ignorant multitude.
The Sectarian
yogas.
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The modern sectarians in upper Hindustan, namely the followersof Rmnuja, Gorakhnth, Nnak, Kabir
and others, possess their respective modes ofyoga, written in the dialects of Hindi, for theirpractice in the maths or monasteries peculiar to their differentorders.
Yoga an indigeneof India.
Lux-ab-oriens. "Light from the east:" and India has givenmore light to the west than it has derived fromthat quarter. We see India in Greece in manythings, but not Greece in India in any. Andwhen we see a correspondence of the Asiatic with the European,we have more reason to suppose its introduction to the west by itstravellers to the east, since the days of Alexander the Great, thanthe Indians' importation of any thing from Europe, by crossing
the seas which they had neither the means nor privelege[**privilege] to dobythe laws of their country. Whatever, therefore, the Indian has isthe indigenous growth of the land, or else they would be as refinedas the productions of Europe are generally found to be.
Its Europeanforms &c. &c.
Professor Monier Williams speaking of the yoga philosophysays;[**:] "The votaries of animal magnetism,clairvoyance and so called spiritualism, will findmost of their theories represented or far out-*doneby corresponding notions existing in the yoga system formore than two thousand years ago." In speaking of the Vedantahe declares;[**:] "The philosophy of the Sufis, alleged to be developed
-----File: 040.png---------------------------------------------------------
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out of the Koran, appears to be a kind of pantheism very similarto that of the Vedanta." He has next shewn the correspondenceof its doctrines with those of Plato. Again he says about the
Snkhya;[**:] "It may not be altogether unworthy of the attentionof Darwinians" (Ind[**.] Wisdom).
The yoga &c. inGreece.
The Dialectic Nyya in the opinion of Sir William Jonesexpressed in his Discourse on Hindu philosophy,
was taken up by the followers of Alexander andcommunicated by them to Aristottle[**Aristotle]: and thatPythagaras[**Pythagoras] derived his doctrine of Metempsychosis fromtheHindu yoga in his travels through India. His philosophy was of acontemplative cast from the sensible to the immaterial intelligibles."
The Gnostic yoga.
Weber says;[**:] "The most flourishing epoch of the Snkhya-yoga,belongs most probably to the first centuries ofour eras, the influence it exercised upon thedevelopment of gnosticism in Asia Minor being unmistakable;while further both through that channel and afterwards directlyalso, it had an important influence upon the growth of Sophi-philosophy"(See Lassen I. A. K. & Gieldmister-[**--]Scrip[**.] Arab[**.]
de Inde.)
Yoga amongMoslems.
It was at the beginning of the 11th century that Albirunitranslated Ptanjali's work (Yoga-Stra) intoArabic, and it would appear the Snkhya Stras
also; though the information we have of the
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says of Hinduism at large, "to present its spiritual andmaterial aspects, its esotoric[**esoteric] and exoteric, itssubjective and objective, its pure and impure
sides to the observer." "It is," he says, "at once vulgarly pantheistic,severely monotheistic, grossly polytheistic and coldlyatheistic. It has a side for the practical and another for thedevotional and another for the speculative." Again says he;[**:]
"Those, who rest in ceremonial observances, find it all satisfying;those, who deny the efficacy of works and make faith the onething needful, need not wander from its pale; those, who delight
in meditating on the nature of God and man, the relation ofmatter and spirit, the mystery of separate existence and theorigin of evil, may here indulge their love of speculation." (Introductionto Indian Wisdom p. xxvii.)
We shall treat of these seriatim, by way of notes to or interpretationof the above, as applying to the different modes of yogapractised by these several orders of sectarians.
1. Spiritual yoga.[****]
That the earliest form of yoga was purely spiritual, is evidentfrom the Upanishads, the Vednta doctrines ofVysa and all works on the knowledge of thesoul (adhytma Vidy). "All the early Upanishads",
says Weber, "teach the doctrine of atm-spirit, and thelater ones deal with yoga meditation to attain complete union withtm or the Supreme Spirit." Web. Ind. Lit. p. 156. "The tmsoul or self and the supreme spirit (paramtm) of which allother souls partake, is the speritual[**spiritual] object of meditation(yoga)."Max Muller's[**Mller's] A. S. Lit. p. 20. Yajnavalkya says;[**:] [****]-----File: 042.png---------------------------------------------------------
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"The Divine Spirit is to be seen, heard, perceived and meditatedupon &c." If we see, hear, perceive and know Him, then thiswhole universe is known to us.[**"] A. S. Lit. p. 23. Again,
"Whosoever looks for Brahmahood elsewhere than in the DivineSpirit, should be abandoned. Whosoever looks for Kshatra powerelsewhere than in the Divine Spirit, should be abandoned. ThisBrahmahood, this Kshatra power, this world, these gods, thesebeings, this universe, all is Divine Spirit," Ibid. The meaningof the last passage is evidently that, the spirit of God pervadesthe whole, and not that these are God; for that would be pantheismand materialism; whereas the Sruti says that, "God is to
be worshipped in spirit and not in any material object." [****]
2. The Materialisticyoga
The materialistic side of the yoga, or what is called thePrkritika yoga, was propounded at first in theSnkhya yoga system, and thence taken up in
the Purnas and Tantras, which set up a primevalmatter as the basis of the universe, andthe purusha or animal soul as evolved out of it, and subsisting inmatter. Weber's Ind. Lit. p. 235.
Of Matter-[**--]Prakriti.
Here, the avyakta--matter is reckoned as prior to the purusha
or animal soul; whereas in the Vednta thepurusha or primeval soul is considered as priorto the avyakta-matter. The Snkhya, therefore, recognizes theadoration of matter as its yoga, and its founder Kapila was ayogi of this kind. Later materialists meditate on the materialprinciples and agencies as the causes of all, as in the VidyanmodaTarangini; [****]
Of Spirit-[**--]Purusha.
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These agencies were first viewed as concentrated in a maleform, as in the persons of Buddha, Jina and
Siva, as described in the Kumra Sambhava[****]; and when in the female figure of Prakritior nature personified, otherwise called Saktirup or thepersonification of energy, as in the Devi mhtmya; [****]-*[****]&c. They were afterwards viewed inthe five elements panchabhta, which formed the elemental wor-*-----File: 043.png---------------------------------------------------------*ship of the ancients, either singly or conjointly as in the pancha-*bhutik
upsan, described in the Sarva darsana sangraha.
Nature of worship ineight forms.
The materialistic or nature worship was at last diversified intoeight forms called ashta mrti, consisting ofearth, water, fire, air, sky, sun, moon, and the
sacrificial priest, which were believed to be somany forms of God sa, and forming the objects of his meditationalso. The eight forms are summed up in the lines;[**:] [****][****] or as it is more commonly read in Bengal, [****]That they were forms of sa is thus expressed by Klidsa in theRaghu-vansa; [****]and that they were meditated upon by him as expressedby the same in his Kumra Sambhava;[**:]
[****]
The prologue to the Sakuntal will at once prove this great poetto have been a materialist of this kind; thus;[**:]
[****]
"Water the first work of the creator, and Fire which receives
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This is the "laukika" or popular form of devotion practisedchiefly by the outward formulae--vahirangas of
yoga, with observance of the customary ritesand duties of religion. The former kind calledVidy ([****]) and the latter Avidy ([****]), are enjoined to beperformed together in the Veda, which says;[**:] [****] &c.The Bhagavadgit says to the same effect, [****]The yoga Vsishtha inculcates the same doctrinein conformity with the Sruti which says;[**:] [****]
5. The Subjectiveor Hansa yoga.
The hansa or paramahansa yoga is the subjective form, whichconsists in the perception of one's identity withthat of the supreme being, whereby men areelevated above life and death. (Weber's Ind.Lit. p. 157.) The formula of meditation is "soham, hansah"
([****]) I am He, Ego sum Is, and the Arabic "Anal Haq[**"];wherein the Ego is identified with the absolute.
6. The objectiveword Tattwamasi.
The objective side of yoga is clearly seen in its formula oftattwamasi--"thou art He." Here "thou" the
object of cognition--a non ego, is made theabsolute subjective (Weber. Ind. Lit. p. 162)."[**delete "]-----File: 045.png---------------------------------------------------------This formula is reduced to one word tatwam [****] denoting"truth," which contained in viewing every thing as Himself, orhaving subordinated all cosmical speculations to the objectivemethod.
7. The Pure yoga-Suddha
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Brahmacharyam.
The pure Yoga has two meanings viz;[**,] the holy and unmixed
forms of it. The former was practised by theBrahmachris and Brahmachrinis ofyore, and is now in practice with the Knphuttayogis and yoginis of Katiyawar in Guzerat and Bombay. Its unmixedform is found among the Brahmavdis and Vdinis, whopractise the pure contemplative yoga of Vednta without anyintermixture of sectarian forms. It corresponds with the philosophicalmysticism of saint Bernard, and the mystic devotion of
the Sufis of Persia. (See Sir Wm. Jones. On the MysticPoetry of the Hindus, Persians and Greeks.)
8. The Impure orBhanda yoga.
The impure yoga in both its significations of unholiness andintermixture, is now largely in vogue with the
followers of the tantras, the worshippers ofSiva and Sakti, the modern Gosavis of Deccan,the Bullabhchris of Brindabun, the Gosains, Bhairavis andVaishnava sects in India, the Aghoris of Hindustan, and theKartbhajs and Ner-neris of Bengal.
9. The Pantheisticor Visvtm yoga.
This is well known from the pantheistic doctrines of Vednta,to consist in the meditation of every thing inGod and God in every thing; "Sarvam khalvidamBrahama" [****];and that such contemplation alone leads to immortality. [****][****] It correspondswith the pantheism of Persian Sufis and those of Spinoza and
Tindal in the west. Even Sadi says;[**:] "Hamn nestand unche
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hasti tui," there is nothing else but thyself. So in Urdu, Jokuch hai ohi hai nahin aur kuchh.
10. The Monotheisticor Adwaita Brahmayoga.
It consists in the meditation of the creed [****]of the Brahmans, like the "Wahed Ho" ofMoslems, and that God is one of unitarian[**Unitarian]christians[**Christians]. The monotheistic yoga is embodied
-----File: 046.png---------------------------------------------------------in the Svetswatara and other Upanishads (Weber p. 252 a). Asfor severe monotheism the Mosaic and Moslem religions areunparalleled, whose tenet it is "la sharik laho" one without apartner; and, "Thou shalt have no other God but Me."
11. The Dualisticor Dwaita yoga.
The dualistic yoga originated with Patanjali, substituting hisIsvara for the Purusha of Snkhya, and takingthe Prakriti as his associate. "From these,"says Weber, "the doctrine seems to rest substantiallyupon a dualism of the Purusha male and avyakta orPrakriti--the female." This has also given birth to the dualisticfaith of the androgyne divinity-[**--]the Protogonus of the Greek
mythology, the ardhanriswara of Manu, the undividedAdam of the scriptures, the Hara-Gauri and Ummaheswara[**Um-Maheswara] ofthe Hindu Sktas. But there is another dualism of two maleduties joined in one person of Hari-hara or Hara-hari; whoseworshippers are called dwaita-vdis, and among whom the famousgrammarian Vopadeva ranks the foremost.
12. The Trialistic
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or Traita-yoga.
The doctrines of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and
Siva, and that of the Platonic triad and christian[**Christian]Holy Trinity are well known to inculcate theworship and meditation of the three persons inone, so that in adoring one of them, a man unknowingly worshipsall the three together.
13. The Polytheisticyoga or Sarva
Devopsana.
This consists of the adoration of a plurality of deities in themythology by every Hindu, though every onehas a special divinity of whom he is the votaryfor his particular meditation. The later upanishadshave promulgated the worship of several forms of Vishnuand Siva (Web. I. Lit. p. 161); and the Tantras have given
the dhynas or forms of meditation of a vast member of deities intheir various forms and images (Ibid. p. 236).
14. The Atheisticor Nirswara yoga.
The Atheistic yoga is found in the niriswara or hylo-theisticsystem of Kapila, who transmitted his faith
"in nothing" to the Buddhists and Jains, whohaving no God to adore, worship themselves.[**,]-----File: 047.png---------------------------------------------------------in sedate and silent meditation. (Monier Williams, HinduWisdom p. 97).
15. The Theistic orstikya yoga.
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The Theistic yoga system of Ptanjala[**Patanjali] otherwise called theseswara yoga, was ingrafted on the old atheisticsystem of Snkhya with a belief in the Iswara.
It is this system to which the name yogaspecially belongs. (Weber's Ind. Lit. pp. 238[**deleted .] and 252).
16. The PracticalYoga Sdhana.
"The yoga system," says Weber, "developed itself in course oftime in outward practices of penance and mortifications,
whereby absorption in the SupremeBeing was sought to be obtained. We discoverits early traces in the Epics and specially in the Atharva upanishads."(Ind. Lit. p. 239). The practical yoga Sdhana isnow practised by every devotee in the service of his respectivedivinity.
17. The devotional
or Sannysayoga.
The devotional side of the yoga is noticed in the instance ofJanaka in the Mahbhrata, and of Yjnavalkya[**Yjnavalkhya]in the Brihadryanyaka[**Brihadranyaka] in the practice of theirdevotions in domestic life. These examplesmay have given a powerful impetus to the yogis in the succeeding
ages, to the practice of secluded yoga in ascetism andabandonment of the world, and its concerns called Sannysa as inthe case of Chaitanya and others.
18. The SpeculativeDhyna yoga.
It had its rise in the first or earliest class of Upanishads, when
the minds of the Rishis were employed in
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speculations about their future state and immortality,and about the nature and attributesof the Supreme Being.
19. The Ceremonialor Kriy yoga.
This commenced with the second class or mideval[**medieval]upanishads,which gave the means and stages, wherebymen may even in this world attain complete
union with the tma (Web. I. Lit. p. 156).The yogchara of Manu relates to the daily ceremonies ofhouse-keepers, and the Kriy yoga of the Purnas treats aboutpilgrimages and pious acts of religion.-----File: 048.png---------------------------------------------------------
20. The Pseudoor Bhkta yoga.
The pure yoga being perverted by the mimickery[**mimicry] of falsepretenders to sanctity and holiness, have assumedall those degenerate forms which arecommonly to be seen in the mendicant Fakirs,strolling about with mock shows to earn a livelihood from theimposed vulgar. These being the most conspicuous have infuseda wrong notion of yoga into the minds of foreigners.
21. The Bhaktiyoga.
The Bhakti yoga first appears in the swetswatara[**S-] Upanishadwhere the Bhakti element of faith shoots forthto light (Web. Ind. Lit. pp. 252 and 238).It indicates acquaintance with the corresponding
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doctrine of christianity[**Christianity]. The Bhgavad Gt lays specialstressupon faith in the Supreme Being. It is the united opinion of
the majority of European scholars, that the Hindu Bhakti isderived from the faith (fides) of christian[**Christian] Theology. It hastaken the place of [****] or belief among all sects, and has beenintroduced of late in the Brahma Samjas with other Vaishnavapractices.
The other topics of Proff.[**Prof.] Monier Williams being irrelevant toour subject, are left out from being treated in the present
dessertation[**dissertation].
XIII. THE CONSUMMATION OF YOGA (SIDDHI).[** moved '.']
22. By assimilationto the object.
The Yogi by continually meditating on the perfections of theAll Perfect Being, becomes eventually a perfect being himself,just as a man that devotes his sole attentionto the acquisition a particular science,attains in time not only to a perfection in it, butbecomes as it were identified with that science. Or to use a naturalphenomenon in the metamorphoses of insects, the transformationof the cockroach to the conchfly, by its constant dread of the latter
when caught by it, and the cameleon's changing its colour forthose of the objects about it, serve well to elucidate the Brahma-hood[****] of the contemplative yogi.
But to illustrate this point more clearly we will cite the argumentof Plotinus of the Neo-Platonic school, to prove the ele-*-----File: 049.png---------------------------------------------------------*vation of the meditative yogi to the perfection of the Being
he meditates upon. He says, "Man is a finite being, how can
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he comprehend the Infinite? But as soon as he comprehends theInfinite, he is infinite himself: that is to say;[**:] he is no longerhimself, no longer that finite being having a consciousness of
his own separate existence; but is lost in and becomes one withthe Infinite."
By identificationwith the object.
Here says Mr. Lewes, "If I attain to a knowledge of theInfinite, it is not by my reason which is finite,
but by some higher faculty which identifiesitself with its object. Hence the identity ofsubject and object, of the thought and the thing thought of[****] is the only possible ground of knowledge.Knowledge and Being are identical, and to know more is to bemore"[**.] But says Plotinus;[**:] "If knowledge is the same as thething known, the finite as finite, can never know the Infinite,because he cannot be Infinite"[**,] Hist. Phil. I. p. 391.
By meditation ofDivine attributes.
Therefore the yogi takes himself as his preliminary step, tothe meditations of some particular attribute orperfection of the deity, to which he is assimilatedin thought, which is called his state of
lower perfection; until he is prepared by his highest degree ofecstacy to loose[**lose] the sense of his own personality, and becomeabsorbed in the Infinite Intelligence called his ultimate consummationor Samdhi, which makes him one with the Infinite,and unites the knower and the known together; [****][****]
The Sufi Perfection.
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1. Microcosm orAnim.
The specific property of the minuteness of the soul or universalspirit, that it is minuter than the minutest([****]). By thinking himself as such,the yogi by a single expiration of air, makes hiswhole body assume a lank and lean appearance, and penetrateshis soul into all bodies.
2. Macrocosm orMahim
This also is a special quality of the soul that it fills the body,and extends through all space and encloses itwithin itself ([****]); by thinking so,the yogi by a mere respiration of air makes hisbody round and turgid as a frog, and comprehends the universe
in himself.
3. Lightness orLaghim.
From thinking on the lightness of the soul, the yogi producesa diminution of his specific gravity by swallowinglarge draughts of air, and thereby keeps
himself in an aerial posture both on sea andland. This the Sruti says as ([****]).-----File: 051.png---------------------------------------------------------
4. Gravity orGarim
This practice is opposed to the above, and it is by the same
process of swallowing great draughts of air,
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and compressing them within the system, thatthe yogi acquires an increase of his specificgravity or garim [*****]. Krishna is said to have assumed
his [*****] in this way, which preponderated all weightsin the opposite scale.
5. Success orPrpti
This is the obtaining of desired objects and supernatural powersas by inspiration from above. The yogi in a
state of trance acquires the power of predictingfuture events, of understanding unknownlanguages, of curing divers diseases, of hearing distant sounds, ofdivining unexpressed thoughts of others, of seeing distant objects,or smelling mystical fragrant odours, and of understanding thelanguage of beasts and birds. Hence the prophets all dived intofuturity, the oracles declared future events, Jina understood pasubhsh,and Christ healed diseases and infirmities. So also
Sanjaya saw the battles waged at Kurukshetra from the palaceof king Dhritarshtra.
6. Overgain-[**--]Pra-Kmya[**Prakmya]
Prakmya is obtaining more than one's expectations, and consistsin the power of casting the old skin andmaintaining a youth-like appearance for an
unusual period of time, as it is recorded of kingYayti (Japhet or Jypati); and of Alcibiades who maintained anunfading youth to his last. By some writers it is defined to bethe property of entering into the system of another person; as itis related of Sankarchrya's entering the dead body of princeAmaru in the Sankara Vijaya.
7. Subjection
Vasitwam
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himself lighter than the lightest substance,and heavier than the heaviest; can become asvast or as minute as he pleases; can traverse
all space, can animate any dead body by transferring his spiritinto it from his own frame. He can render himself invisible, canattain all objects, become equally acquainted with the present,past and future, and is finally united with Siva, and consequentlyexempted from being born again upon earth. (See Wilson'sHindu Religion p. 131).
Ditto of Plato.
We find the same doctrine in Plato's Phaedrus where Socratesdelivers a highly poetical effusion respectingthe partial intercourse or the human soul witheternal intellectual Realia. He says moreover that, all objectswhich are invisible can be apprehended only by cogitation (yoga);and that none but philosophers (yogis), and a few of them canattain such mental energy during this life ([****]); nor even
they fully and perfectly in the present state. But they will attainit fully after death; if their lives have been passed in sober philosophicaltraining ([****]). And that all souls enjoyed it beforebirth, before junction with the body, which are forgotten duringchildhood, but recalled in the way of reminiscence by association.The revival of the divine elements is an inspiration of the natureof madness (trance or ecstacy of the yoga). The soul becoming-----File: 053.png---------------------------------------------------------
insensible to ordinary pursuits, contracts a passionate tendencyto the universal. (Baine on Realism, pp. 6 and 7).
Authority ofPlotinus.
"It is ecstacy the faculty by which the soul divests itself ofits personality. In this state the soul becomes
loosened from its material prison, separated
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He then starts the question, "How is it that faith in a falsesystem can operate with sufficient force upon
the Hindu, to impel him to submit voluntarilyto almost incredible restraints, mortificationsof the flesh and physical tortures? How is it that anamount of physical endurance may be exhibited by an apparentlyweakly and emaciated Asiatic, which would be impossible-----File: 054.png---------------------------------------------------------to a European, the climate and diet in one case tending to debilitateand in the other to invigorate?" (Ibid p. 104).
Their Illegitimacy.
Professor Monier's statement of the existence of the afore-*saidself mortifications and voluntary contortionsof the limbs of the yogis for two thousandyears or since the invention of yoga philosophy, is open torefutation on the ground of there being no mention of them
in the old systems of yoga inculcated either in the Vednta orPatanjali's philosophy, or even in the yoga Vsishtha[**Yoga Vasishtha],as it is evidentfrom the practices and processes of yoga we have alreadygiven before. Those processes are seen to be simply moral restraints,and no physical torture of any kind, and such moral restraintsmust be acknowledged on all hands, to be indispensible[**indispensable]to
the concentration of the mind on any subject of far less importancethan the contemplation of the inscrutable nature of the Divinity.
Abuses of Hathayoga.
The abuses he speaks of must be those of the arduous practicesof the Hatha yoga, which have been in
vogue with pseudo yogis of the later times,
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from their superstitious belief in bodily torturesas their best penance and only means, (as the author himselfavows), "of their fancied attainment of extraordinary
sanctity and supernatural powers." (Ibid). But such practicesas have degenerated to deceptive tricks in this country, andare carried on by the cheating and cheated fools under the falsename of yoga, present their counterparts also in the trickeriesof the fanatics and fakirs under every form of faith on earth,without affecting the true religion or creating any misconceptionof the yoga doctrine.
Sacrifice of thespirit.
In vindication of our spiritual yoga we have to say thatit is no exoteric religion, and requires no bodilymortification or sacrifice in any shape whatever,as it is the usual practice of all forms of religionamong mankind. The yoga is the speculative training
of the human soul, and concerns the castigation of the spirit andnot the mortification of flesh. It has nothing to do with thebody which is of this earth, and which we have to leave herebehind us.-----File: 055.png---------------------------------------------------------
Sacrifice of theBody.
The universal doom of death pronounced on the originalguilt of man, is not to be averted by physicaldeath or any deadly torture of the body,as it is commonly believed by the bulk ofmankind, to consist in bodily mortifications and sacrifices; but in thecontrition and penitence of the spirit, and sacrifice of the soul as theonly sin-offering for the atonement of our original and actual
transgressions.
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The Purusha medha sacrifice of the Veda which is misunderstoodfor the offering of a male-being, a man, a horse, a bullor a he-goat or male of any animal, meant originally the sacrifice
of the human soul, or self-immolation of the purusha or embodiedintelligence to the Supreme Spirit, by means of its concentrationinto the same through the instrumentality of yoga abstraction. Dr.K. M. Banerjia's interpretation of the Purusha medha as typicalof the crucifixion of Christ, is more conformable with hischristian[**Christian]view of the mysticism, than the spiritual sense of self-sacrifice,in which it is generally understood by the speculative Yogi and
the philosophical Vedantist.-----File: 056.png---------------------------------------------------------
THE OM TAT SAT.
1. Preamble ofOm tat sat.
After consideration of Yoga the title of our work, and all itscomponent parts tending to the exercise of meditation, togetherwith an investigation into the nature oftman or soul, as the agent of the act of meditatingand procuring its salvation, we are ledby a natural and coherent train of thought to an inquiry intothe nature of that grand object of our holy and profound meditation,which is the only means of our emancipation, and which is
presented at once to our view in the exordium of the work in themystical characters of Om Tat Sat = On Id Est.
2. Ambiguity ofthe word Om.
The word Om forming the initial of the said epigraph standingprominent at the top of the opening page of
the work, and being more than a multinymous
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term and ambiguous in its acceptations, requiresto be treated at some length, in order to discover the hiddenmeaning lying buried under that mystic emblem of the grand
arcanum of Brahmanical and Universal religion, from amidst avariety of significations which are heaped upon it in the sacredwritings and holy speculations of the early sages of India.
THE SRUTI SAYS:--
3. In the beginning
was the wordOm.
[****] So saith the Holy scripture:--
"In the beginning was the word, the word was with God,and the word was God. All this was made by him, and withouthim was not anything made, that was made and" St. John 1.1-3.
Om, the lightof the world.
And again says the Sruti [****]-----File: 057.png---------------------------------------------------------
"That Om shone forth as light, but they received it not,
and hid it in darkness." So the Scripture:--
"That was the light of the world, and the light shone uponthe world, but the world knew it not &c." St. John, Ch 1,V. 5. 9. 10.
5. Its Revelationto mankind.
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Again says the Scripture,--"God sent one to bear witness ofthe light, that all men through him mightbelieve." Id 1.7. So Brahm the god revealed
its meaning to his first begotten son Atharvan,and a[**A]tharvan, the Prajpati, gave instruction on the subject toPippalda, Sanatkumra and Angira" (Weber A. S. L., p. 164).Again Angiras, who communicated it to Saunaka, had obtained itfrom Bharadvja Satyavha, and the latter again from ngira,the pupil of Atharvan, to whom it was revealed by Brahmhimself (Weber A. S. L., p. 158).
6. Works on itsDisquisition.
Hence it is the Atharva Sikh Upanishad in which the investigationof the sacred word Om is principallyconducted apart from those of them[**M]ndukya, Maitr and Traka Upanishads.(Web. Id., p. 164). These together with their Bhshyas by Sankara,
the Kriks of Gaudapda, and the commentaries ofnandagiri on them, are chiefly devoted to the scrutiny of thesacred syllable, beside the partial disquisition of every otherUpanishad and theological work into the hidden sense of thismystic word. Weber points out the Saunaka and PranavaUpanishads among the number (A. S. L., p. 165).
7. Mode of our
Investigation.
We shall proceed in this prolegomena first to investigateinto the orthographical character and structureof this syllable, and then to inquire into thedesignations and etymological synonyms or theword, with the lexical meanings that we can get of them, andlastly to treat of the many mystical interpretations which this
single word is made to bear as a common emblem of them.
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II. ORTHOGRAPHY OF OM.
Firstly: Om with respect, to its name and utterance is called-----File: 058.png---------------------------------------------------------
1. The letter[****]
Onkra, that is, the nasal On in combination with the adjunct
kra (signifying a sound) and meaning the letterOn. For all sounds whether vocal ([****]) orsonant ([****]), nasal ([****]) or not-nasal ([****]),articulate ([****]) or onomatopoeia ([****]), are denominatedletters; as the letters a &c. ([****]) are called vowels,the letters Ka &c. ([****]) consonants; so the nasals n, in([****]) &c, as also the inarticula
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