134 - A dialogue between Vasistha and Janaka

Vasistha said: 

1. Thus due to the state of being unenlightened, the soul devoid of knowledge and enlightenment proceeds from one physical body to thousands of bodies. Therefore it does not differ in the course of its transmigration. 

2. On account of its acquisition of penance or decrease of good qualities the soul sometimes takes up bodies among gods or among lower creatures. 

3. From human birth it proceeds to heaven and from god it becomes a human being. From the state of man it proceeds to hell. 

4. Just as the silk worm wraps itself by its thread-like fibres so also this soul though devoid of Guņas wraps itself by means of Guņas. 

5-8a. Though the soul is devoid of mutually opposed pairs it is affected by them in different births. At the time when a person suffers from ailments such as headache, eye-pain, tooth - ache, sore throat, dropsy, diarrhoea, Gandamála, Vicharcikā, leukoderma, burns, scalds, epileptic fits etc., the characteristic symptoms of diverse types appear in the bodies of these souls. The soul identifies itself with the bodies, As in the case of identification so also in regard to meritorious deeds. 

86-12. The persons perform meritorious deeds of various kinds with a desire for welfarc. The various kinds of meritorious rites are as follows: some wear four clothes; some lie down on the ground; some are seated in the Virasana. After Virasana some take up the posture of Akäśa Sayana (lying in the firmament); some lie on bricks and rocks; some on spherical rocks; some lie on ash rocks, some have the ground for their bed as well as unguent. Drinking and cooking are conducted in heroic abodes (?) Lying down is on planks or on beds equipped with fruits and articles of domestic use. A man lies down in gardens attached to barns (?). He wears leather pieces or silken clothes along with the hide of black deer. He may wear fur garments studded with jewels or wear tiger skin garment. 

13. He may wear lion hide or silken garment. Plank may be his robe or he may be wearing a mat. 

14. Mat alone may be his garment or he may be wearing bark garment. We may take pride in wearing other types of clothes. 

15. He may have diverse types of food and different kinds of jewels. He may take food once a day or on different nights with intervals of a night in between. 

16. The time for taking meals may be the fourth, sixth or eighth one (i.e. calculating at the rate of two meals per day he may take meals once in two, three or four days). 

17. Some men may fast for a month; their diet may be confined to roots; a person may eat fruits or air alone or oil cake, curd and cowdung. 

18. Some may take in cow's urine; some the Kāśa flower. Some may take in only water moss. Some may sustain themselves by other things. 

19. Some may live upon scattered old leaves or scattered fruits. A devotee resorts to different kinds of very difficult austerities with a desire for spiritual achievement. 

20. He may perform different kinds of Chandrāyaṇa rites. There may be symbols pertaining to the four stages of life or to virtue and evil. 

21. He resorts to various shelters. He may indulge in different heresies. He may resort to isolated shadows of rocky chiffs or to mountain streams. 

22. He may resort to lonely river banks, different forests, or lonely mountain caves. 

23. He may adopt different types of holy rites and obser- vances and various kinds of austerities, sacrifices of various types and different kinds of scholarly arts. 

24-25. He may resort to the path of merchants or to the four castes viz. brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sūdras. He may distribute charitable gifts of various kinds among the wretched, the blind, the miserable ones. He may identify himself with different attributes, viz. Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, Dharma, Artha and Kāma. 

26-28. After honouring the Atman, the Atman divides it self into various types of persons. The various items in the holy rites are Svähäkāra, Vasatkāra, Svadhākāra and Namaskára (obeisance), sacrifice, study, presiding over sacrifices, teaching of Vedas and Sastras. They say that this is both auspicious and inauspicious due to birth and death or destruction. 

29. Divine Prakruti causes fear and annihilation. At the end of the day, he passes beyond Guņas and remains single. 

30. Just as the sun controls at the proper time the cluster of his rays, so also the soul controls all these and identifies itself with them for the sake of sport. 

31-32. It identifies itself with these various features and qualities of the soul pleasing to the heart. Carrying out the function of creation and annihilation it identifies itself with those activities. It is the master of attributes and it possesses the Guņas. It is interested in the path of activities. It is equipped with the paths of activity as well as inactivity. 

33. O great King, this entire universe is blinded by Prakruti. Everything is pervaded in many ways by Rajas and Tamas. 

34-40. The soul thinks like this: "The Dvandvas afflict me continually and pass beyond. They are born of me and they resort to me at the time of annihilation. All these are to be crossed". So thinks the soul, O king, since the intellect is partial (?). Similarly it thinks as follows: "I have to enjoy these merits when I go to the heavenly world. Here too I shall enjoy it even as it gives rise to auspiciousness or inauspiciousness. After I have performed this once it must yield happiness to me so that there shall be pleasure and happiness in every birth. Let there not be misery at any time. Human birth is miserable unto all and so also is the fall into the hell. From the hell I shall again go to the mortal world. From human birth I shall attain the status of gods and from godliness I shall attain human status again.” And in due succession he attains hell from the status of human beings. This is the soul of the twice- born. It is surrounded by Guņas. 

41. Therefore the attainment of hell by gods and human beings is relevant. Being overwhelmed by the sense of "Myness" it always moves there round and round. 

42-53. There are thousands of crores of creations in these forms that end in death. 

He who performs the actions the fruit whereof is cither auspicious or inauspicious, attains the particular fruit, taking up forms in all the three worlds. 

It is Prakruti that performs actions, the fruit whereof is either auspicious or inauspicious. And it is Prakruti that can go as it pleases anywhere in all the three worlds and attains results, 

One shall know of all these three regions as pertaining to Prakruti, viz. 1) the birth as one of the low creatures, 2) the birth as a human being, 3) the birth in the heavenly world of gods. 

Since it is unmanifest it can be inferred by means of symbols too. 

In the same manner he considers the manly symbol only due to inference. Mingling with other symbols it becomes the unerring symbol of Prakruti. 

After presiding over the pores of vital airs the soul considers the actions to be in the Ātman itself. 

All the sense organs such as the ear etc. and the five organs of action initiate passion etc. in the Guņas along with the Guņas, 

The Atman which is devoid of sense organs and organs of action thinks like this: "I am doing this. These are my organs". 

One who is devoid of wounds thinks "I am wounded”. One who is without a symbol thinks that it has a symbol. The Ātman has no Kala (Time) but he thinks it has a Kála. Ātman is devoid of Sattva but thinks that it has Sattva. The Ātman is immortal but he thinks that it dies. He thinks that the Ātman is mobile while in reality it is immobile. 

Ātman is really devoid of action but he thinks that it has action. 

Ātman has no attachment but he thinks it has attachment. Ātman is different from a principle but he thinks it has principles. Atman is devoid of birth but he thinks that it has birth. 

Since he is not enlightened he considers the Ātman that is imperishable to be perishable. 

Thus due to the state of not being enlightened and because unenlightened persons are resorted to, the soul attains thousands of crores of births ending with its downfall. It takes up thousands of births ending with its death, among the lower species of creatures or in tlic region of gods. 

54-58. Due to the state of not being enlightened, the person of evil intellect is being taken away in a thousand ways like the moon in the current of water. Do also know that the moon is eternally possessed of sixteen parts but the ignorant one thinks it growing constantly. He is born again and again for ever. 

The sixteenth digit is subtle. Let it be considered the real Moon. This digit is not consumed by Devas (gods). It remains for ever. 

After destroying my-ness, O excellent king, he is born and joins Devas too. Since Prakruti has three Guņas, he is also Triguņa (with three Gunas).