Chapter 9 - The Discourse of the Avadhūta Concluded

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

[Full title: The Discourse of the Avadhūta Concluded (Lessons from the remaining seven preceptors)]

The Brāhmaṇa continued:

1. Acquisition of whatever persons crave most to possess is certainly the cause of misery. He who realizes this and (wishing to overcome his propensity for possession) becomes a complete ‘Have-not’, attains infinite happiness.

2. More powerful birds of prey which had got no piece of flesh, attacked and pecked the he-osprey who possessed one. But by dropping that flesh, it (the he-osprey) got relief and happiness.

3. I am not affected by honour or dishonour. I have no anxiety for my house, wife and children (as I have none). Like a child, I range over the world at will, sporting in the bliss of Ātman and delighted within my own Soul.

4. (O king, in this world) only two (types of) persons are free from anxiety and are immersed in the Supreme bliss—one is an innocent ignorant child and the other is one who has transcended the guṇas.

5. In a certain place, a maiden herself had to receive the guests who had come to see her (for selecting her as a bride) while her relatives (parents etc.) had gone out somewhere.

6. While she was pounding alone (secretly) paddy for entertaining them with food, the bangles of shell in her wrists began to give out loud jingling sound.

7. The intelligent girl felt it shameful (to disclose that the bride had to do such work), broke the bangles one by one till only two remained on each of her wrists.

8. Even the pair of bangles created a noise as she pounded (the paddy). She, therefore broke one from each pair (with the result that) no sound was produced from the remaining one.

9. O vanquisher of enemies, I learnt this lesson from her, while I was roaming over the world with the desire of knowing the true nature of the world.

10. If many persons live together there will be quarrels; if two live together there is a talk. Hence a person should wander alone without any companion like the single bangle on the wrist of the girl.

11. Having achieved firmness of the sitting posture and controlled the breath, a person should concentrate his mind (like an archer on his target and by means of renunciation and Yogic practice, he should vigilantly keep his mind steady.

12. The mind, when concentrated in him, sheds off gradually the particles of karma-dust. With the development of Sattva guṇa, he shakes off the Rājasic and Tāmasic tendencies and enters into Nirvāṇa, like a fire (automatically) extinguished (when the fuel is completely burnt). (Such a stage is known as asamprajñāta samādhi).

13. In that stage, a person whose mind is completely absorbed in the meditation of his Self, does not remain conscious of anything inside, or outside just as the manufacturer of shafts was so much absorbed in his work of making arrows that he was not aware of the procession of the king passing by his smithy.

14. Like a serpent a sage, therefore, should go about alone, (avoiding company of others). have no house, should always be vigilant (in his spiritual practice) and take shelter in caves^[1]. He should see to it that he is not marked out by his behaviour (just as the poisonousness or non-poisonousness of a serpent is not discernible from his trail). He should be sparing of words and lead a solitary life.

15. In the case of man who himself is mortal, the attempt to build a house (and maintenance of a family, etc. implied in it) is fraught with great troubles and is fruitless ultimately. But a serpent enters into a house prepared by others (such as an ant-hill or a hole prepared by a mouse) and lives happily. A sage should emulate his example and not bother about constructing a residence.

16. Like a spider withdrawing its web spun out and spread over by it, the Almighty Lord Nārāyaṇa through his potency of time, withdraws, at the end of the Kalpa, this universe which he has created through his Māyā Potency.

17. The Supreme Lord (then) remains alone, one without a second (i.e. devoid of any differentiation) himself self- supported (self-born). He was the support of all the universe. When he has reduced all his powers like sattva, rajas and tamas to the stale of equilibrium with his own force called time, he exists as the First (Ancient-most, unborn) Person, the controller of Pradhāna (wherein, all the Guṇas are merged) and of Puruṣa (that is of Matter and Spirit).

18. He is the highest goal to be attained by god Brahmā and other liberated Souls. He is designated (by Śrutis) as Kevala (Absolute, unconditioned). He is (as it were) a vast reservoir of absolute bliss unconditioned by any limitations.

19.^[2] By his Potency (called time) which needs no other assistance, he agitated his Māyā constituted of three guṇas and (through this agitated Māyā) created the Sūtra (thread) or the principle called Mahat, O vanquisher of enemies (like lust, anger, etc. Hence, you need not be afraid of the power of this Sūtra or Mahat).

20.^[3] They have declared the Sūtra to be the manifestation of three guṇas which evolves this universe of multifarious aspects. It is in the Sūtra that the universe is woven. It is due to Sūtra (in the form of vital breath that a person wanders through the cycle of births and deaths^[4].

21. Just as a spider extends through its mouth the cobweb from its heart, sports with it and again swallows it, so does the Supreme Ruler evolve, protect and withdraw the universe.

22. It may be out of love, hatred or fear, but on whatever object an embodied being concentrates his mind entirely, he attains to the semblance of that object.

23. The larva (captured and) confined in its (captor’s) nest by the wasp, O King, continuously broods over it (through fear), and without losing its original body, it assumes (i.e. is transformed into) the semblance of the wasp.

24. In this manner, from these several preceptors I learnt this wisdom. Now listen as I shall explain to you the wisdom I learnt from my body, O king.

25. My body has been my preceptor as it causes in me dispassion and (engenders in me) discrimination. It creates dispassion as it is subject to birth and death and is in the (final analysis) the source of ever-increasing afflictions. It promotes discrimination, as through it I comprehend correctly the fundamental principles of this universe. I, however, have arrived at the conclusion that this body belongs to others (parents who gave birth to it—or birds and beasts of prey who may eat it). Realizing this, I roam about without entertaining any attachment to the body.

26. It is with the desire of securing pleasure and comforts for this body that a person, with great strain to himself maintains his wife, children, earns money, raises cattle, and keeps servants, houses and relatives. But in the end (at the time of death), like a tree leaving its seed behind for the growth of another tree, it perishes providing for (his re-birth in) another body.

27. The tongue drags a person in one direction to satisfy his taste with tasty eatables; thirst, to another; the organ of generation, still to another direction for sexual intercourse; the senses of touch, hearing and stomach severally to different directions; the nose (sense of smell) still to a different direction (to enjoy perfumes); his quick eyesight, to another and all his organs of action in their own respective directions. In this way, like co-wives pulling (lit. tearing up) the lord of their house (in their own direction), the senses and organs tear up a person.

28. Having created, with his inherent power, the birthless Māyā, various kinds of bodies (i.e. species) such as those of plants and trees, reptiles, mammals, birds, biting insects (like mosquitos), fish (and other acquatic animals), he remained unsatisfied. But when God created the human being with an intellectual capacity capable of realizing the Brahman or Supreme Being, He became delighted.^[5]

29. Having secured, at the end of many transmigrations, birth in this very rare human body which, though transient, is capable of attaining the highest object in life, viz. Mokṣa (liberation), a wise person should endeavour at the earliest, to attain the summum bonum, before his body had not fallen a prey to death. For, objects of senses can, however, be enjoyed everywhere in all species.

30. In this manner, with the sense of dispassion developed and with the light of spiritual wisdom dawned in me, I wander over the earth, free from all attachments and egotism.

31. Knowledge obtained from one preceptor may not be stable, convincing and comprehensive^[6]. This Brahman is verily one without a second, but it is sung variously by different sages.

The Lord said:

32. In this manner, the Brāhmaṇa, of deep knowledge, replied all the questions of Yadu and took his leave of Yadu. He was duly respected and prayed by the king. With pleasure, the Brāhmaṇa wended his way.

33. Having carefully listened to the philosophical exposition of the Avadhūta, Yadu, the ancestor of our ancestors, became completely free from all types of attachment and looked upon all as equals.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Padaratnāvalī gives better interpretation: ‘He should thoroughly and uninterruptedly be absorbed in the meditation of the Lord abiding in the cave of his heart’.

[2]:

Padaratnāvalī: He is not conditioned by a gross, physical body. He is the Antaryāmin (Inner controller) of Kāla (Time). At his own free will, he manifests himself through Time and agitates Māyā i.e. Prakṛti which is under his control and makes her prone to creation. He creates through Prakṛti, the thread (Sūtra) or (Prāṇa) and god Brahmā.

[3]:

They saw that the three guṇas are evolved out of Māyā. It is in the Māyā or Prakṛti that the universe is woven and Jīva gets involved in Saṃsāra as it is invested with Prakṛti—Padaratnāvalī

[4]:

Cf. Vāyur vai gautama sūtram, vāyunā vai sūtreṇā'yaṃ ca lokaḥ, paraś ca lokaḥ sarvāṇi ca bhūtāni sandṛbdhāni /—Bṛhad. Up. 3.7.2

[5]:

Cf. Aitareya Up. 2.3ff

[6]:

Here Bhāvāratha Dīpikā clarifies that Upaniṣadic sages like Śvetaketu and Bhṛgu did not have more than one spiritual preceptor. But the spiritual guidance received by them pertained to the identity of Brahman & the Ātman. Here the ‘knowledge’ means clarifications of minor doubts which can be resolved by logical reasoning; for this a number of ‘preceptors’ or ‘examples’ are useful.