VI
TWO PRINCES AND THE BRAHMA RAAKSHASA
Once upon a time, a King by
name Ratnaangada ruled the city of Amrita
Rukmangada was well versed in
all the Scriptures; but Hemaangada was a Knower of the highest order.
Once both the brothers went
to the forests with a huge retinue to hunt wild animals. They spent a long time
enjoying the sport of hunting. Later getting exhausted they rested near a
spring.
Nearby lived a Brahma
Rakshasa; a Brahminic devil. The devil was well versed in all the Scriptures
and very learned. He used to challenge many a learned person who passed that
way for a scholarly discussion and defeat them easily; in the end he ate them
and satisfied his hunger.
Some travelers passing that
way informed the princes of the danger lurking nearby and hurried off before
the devil saw them. Rukmaangada felt amused about this learned ghoul and
decided to confront it in a scholarly debate.
Both the brothers went in
search of it, found the Brahmaraakshasa resting on a huge tree. Rukmaangada
challenged the devil and engaged him in an argument. However his textual
supremacy was not up to the devil’s wisdom and he was soon defeated in the
debate.
The ghoul emitted a
terrifying laughter and grabbed him tightly in its huge hands and got ready to
consume him.
Hemaangada who was watching
all this immediately shouted:
“O Brahmaraakshasa, do not
eat him yet! I am his younger brother. Defeat me also in argument so that you
may eat us both together”.
The ghoul was not to be put
out. He did not let go of Rukmaangada and replied:
“I have long been without
food. Let me first finish this long-wished for prey, and then I shall defeat
you in debate and complete my meal with you. I hope to make a hearty meal of
you both.”
The younger Prince decided to
engage the wise ghoul in conversation and said:
“O Brahmaraakshasa! You do
not look like an ordinary being. You are very learned and wiser than even many
a human scholar!
Why do you defeat people in
scholarly disputes and eat them?
Please answer me before you
eat my brother.”
The ghoul said:
“In the past I ate anyone who
passed this way while crossing the jungle.
Once DevaVrata, a disciple of
Sage Vasishta passed this way. When I pounced on him, he got angry and cursed
me saying, ‘May your mouth be burnt if you indulge in human prey any more.’
I prayed to him with great
humility and he condescended to modify his curse thus:
‘You may eat those who are
defeated by you in debate.’
Since then I am in strict
obedience of his words. I have waited all this time for a prey. This food which
I have caught is very dear to me. Allow me to eat your brother who has been
defeated by me. I shall deal with you after finishing this meal.”
Hemaangada again stopped him
saying-
“Wait, Wait! Listen to my
words! Please release my brother.
If food is your only problem,
I will get you some other food to replace him. I will give you more food than
you can ever imagine.
But please, let my brother
go! I beg of you!”
The ghoul laughed aloud and
said:
“How can I let go of this
long awaited feast just because you promise me some other food in bargain?
Listen O prince!
There is no such price for
redemption. I will not give him up.
I would be a fool if I let
this food slip away from my hand. I am too hungry now to bargain with you. But
you appear to be wiser than your brother.
However I shall tell you now
a vow which I have taken. There are many questions deeply afflicting my mind.
If you can answer them satisfactorily, I shall release your brother.”
Hemaangada was too glad to
oblige. He requested the ghoul to present any question he desired fit and he
would try his best to answer all his queries.
Here is how the conversation
of the Brahmaraakshasa and Hemaangada went forth.
Brahmaraakshasa:
What is more extensive than
space and more subtle than the subtlest?
What is its nature? Where
does it abide?
Tell me, Prince.
Prince Hemaangada:
Listen o Ghoul!
Pure Consciousness (CHIT) is
wider than space and subtler than the subtlest.
Its nature is to glow. It
abides as the Self.
BR:
How can it be wider than
space, being single?
How is it subtler than the
subtlest? What is that glow?
And what is that Self?
Tell me, Prince.
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Being the material cause of
all, Pure Consciousness is extensive though single.
It is beyond the grasp of the
mind; so it is subtle.
Glowing obviously implies
consciousness and that is the Self.
BR:
Where and how is this Chit (Principle
of Knowledge) to be realized?
What is the effect?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
The intellectual sheath must
be probed for its Realization.
One-pointed search for it
reveals its existence.
Rebirth is overcome by such
Realization.
BR:
What is that sheath?
What is concentration of
mind?
Again what is birth?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
The intellectual sheath is
the veil drawn over Pure Consciousness; it is inert by itself.
One-pointedness is abiding as
the Self.
Birth is the false
identification of the Self with the body.
BR:
Why is that Supreme
Consciousness which is ever shining not realized?
What is the means by which it
can be realized?
Why did birth take place at
all?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Ignorance is the cause of
non-Realization.
Self realizes the Self; there
is no external aid possible.
Birth originated through the
sense of doer ship.
BR:
What is that ignorance of
which you speak?
What is again the Self?
Whose is the sense of doer
ship?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Ignorance is the sense of
separateness from Consciousness and false identification with the non-self
(body).
As for the Self, the question
must be referred to the Self in you.
The ego or the ‘I-thought’ is
the root of action.
BR:
By what means is ignorance to
be destroyed?
How is the means acquired?
What leads to such means?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Rational enquiry cuts at the
root of ignorance.
Dispassion develops rational
enquiry.
Disgust of the pleasures of
life generates dispassion towards them.
BR:
What is Enquiry?
What is dispassion?
What is disgust in pleasures?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Enquiry is analysis conducted
within oneself, discriminating the non-self from the Self, stimulated by a
stern, strong and sincere desire to realize the Self.
Dispassion is non-attachment
to surroundings.
Disgust in pleasures occurs
if the misery resulting from attachment is understood by the mind.
BR:
What is the root cause of the
whole series of these requirements?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Divine Grace is the root
cause of all that is good.
Devotion to God alone can
bring down His Grace.
This devotion is produced and
developed by the company of the wise.
BR:
Who is that God?
What is devotion to Him?
Who are the wise?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
God is the Supreme Controller
of the world.
Devotion is unwavering love
for Him.
The wise are those who abide
in Supreme state of the Self and melt with love for all.
BR:
Who is always in the grip of
fear?
Who is always in the grip of
misery?
Who is always in the grip of
poverty?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
Fear holds a man possessed of
enormous wealth.
Misery holds a man possessed
of a large family.
Poverty holds a man possessed
of insatiable desires.
BR:
Who is fearless?
Who is free from misery?
Who is never needy?
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
The man with no attachments
is free from fear.
The one with controlled mind
is free from misery.
The Self-realized man is
never needy.
BR:
Who is he who is beyond the
men’s understanding and is visible though without a body?
What is the action of the
inactive? (Who does not do anything though doing action?)
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
The man liberated here and
now is beyond the men’s understanding.
He is seen (as a body) though
he does not identify himself with the body.
His actions are those of the
inactive. (He does not do anything though doing actions)
BR:
What is real?
What is unreal?
What is inappropriate?
Answer these questions and
redeem your brother.
PH:
Listen o Ghoul!
The subject (Self) is real.
The object (non-self) is
unreal.
Worldly transactions are
inappropriate.
I have now answered your
questions. Please release my brother at once.”
When the Prince had finished
the ghoul released Rukmaangada with pleasure.
Instantly a Brahmin of
virtuous glow appeared in the place of the Brahmaraakshasa.
The two princes were amazed
by the miraculous occurrence. They saluted the Brahmin and asked him who he
was.
The Brahmin said:
“I was formerly a Brahmin of
Magadha. My name is Vasumaan. I was famous for my learning and known as an
invincible debater. I was very vain headed about my intellectual supremacy and
always participated in the debates conducted in the assembly of those learned
scholars who collected in my country under royal patronage.
There was amongst them a
great saint, perfect in wisdom and entirely Self-possessed. He was known as
Ashtaka. I went there for love of debate.
Though I was a mere logician,
I argued against his statement on Self-Realization by sheer force of logic. He
backed his arguments by profuse quotations from the Sacred Scriptures. Since I
was too arrogant of my learning, I continued to refute him.
Finding me incorrigible, he remained
silent.
However one of his disciples,
a descendant of Kashyapa lineage, was enraged at my audacity and cursed me in
front of the king, saying:
“You wretched Brahmin!
How dare you refute my Guru without
first understanding his statements?
May you at once become a
Brahma-Raakshasa and remain so for a long time.”
I was shocked and frightened
by the curse and took refuge at the feet of the Sage Ashtaka. Being always in
the state of the Self, the compassionate one took pity on me though I had arrogantly
argued with him before.
He modified his disciple’s
curse by pronouncing redemption to it as follows:
“May you resume your old
shape as soon as a wise man gives the correct answers to all the questions
which were raised here by you, answered by me but refuted by your polemics”.
O Prince!
You have now released me from
that curse. I therefore consider you as the best among men, knowing all that
pertains to life here and beyond.”
The princes were surprised by
listening to the story of his life.
The Brahmin requested Hemaangada
to clear some more of his doubts. Hemaangada obliged with extreme kindness and
answered all his questions.
Here is how the conversation
went forth.
Vasumaan:
Prince!
I shall ask you a question.
Please answer me.
I learnt about the Supreme
Truth from Ashtaka and later from you.
You are a Sage; but still,
how is it that you go out hunting?
How can a Sage be engaged in
work?
Work implies duality; wisdom
is non-duality; the two are thus opposed to each other. Please clear this doubt
of mine.
Hemaangada:
O Brahmin!
Your confusion owing to
ignorance has not yet been cleared up.
Knowlede arising out of
Self-realization is eternal and natural. How can it be contradicted by
work? If Knowledge is affected by work,
then it will be worthless like a dream experience. No eternal good is possible
in that case.
All actions performed exist
on the support of Self-awareness or Knowledge.
Being so, can work destroy Knowledge
and yet remain in its absence?
Knowledge is that
Consciousness in which this world with all its phenomena and activities is
known to exist as an image or series of images.
Duality essential for work is
also a phenomenon in that ‘Non-dual Awareness’.
There is no doubt that a man
realizes the Self only after purging himself of all thoughts and that he is
then released from bondage once for all.
Your question has thus no
basis and cannot be expected of the wise.
Vasumaan:
True, O Prince! I have also
concluded that the Self is pure, unblemished Intelligence.
But how can it remain
unblemished when a willful thought arises in it?
How can a realized person be
untainted by his actions?
A coil of rope alone appears
as a snake.
So also the thought is a
modification of the Self alone.
So, is not the Pure
Intelligence blemished by appearing as a thought?
Hemaangada:
Your question is wrong again.
You are not able to
distinguish between confusion and clarity.
Sky appears blue, even though
the space is colorless in truth.
A person who knows this truth
and another who is ignorant of the truth, both see the sky only as blue. The
sky appears blue to all alike whether they know that space is colorless or not.
In this case, the one who is ignorant of the color-less space is ‘confused’.
The one who knows the truth is ‘not confused’.
The wise man also sees the
blueness of the sky but his apparent confusion is harmless like in the presence
of a dead snake.
Similarly the Knower of the
Self is untainted by his actions.
He remains as his Self
always.
Just like the reflections do
not taint a mirror, a knower is also unaffected by his apparent actions. There
lies the difference between a Sage and an ignorant man.
The former has accurate
knowledge and unerring judgment, whereas the latter has a blurred conception
and his judgment is warped.
A Sage never is lost to the
Knowledge of his Self, even though he may appear to be immersed in actions. All
his activities are like reflections in a mirror for, being Self-realized,
ignorance can no longer touch him.
Misconception due to sheer
ignorance can be corrected by true knowledge.
But misconception due to some
fault cannot be so easily corrected.
So long as there is myopia,
the eyesight will be blurred and many images of a single object will be seen.
The body which has arisen out
of some past action cannot vanish when one realizes the Self. The body and the
world around it continue to get perceived by the knower though he knows their
unreal nature.
So long as there is the Praarabdha
(residual past karma) unaccounted for, the manifestation of the world will
continue for the Knower, though only as an unreal phenomenon. It is like an
arrow already shot from the bow and has to end only when its goal is reached.
The life-existence which is
the result of a past Karma can only end at its death and the Knower continues
to see this world as long as his body remains alive in this world.
This will also vanish as soon
as the Praarabdha has played itself out and then pure, unblemished Intelligence
alone will remain.
Therefore I tell you, there
is no blemish attached to a Knower though he appears active and engaged in
worldly duties.
Vasumaan:
O Prince! How can there be
any residue of past karma in a Knower? Does not Jnaana burn away all actions like
fire destroying a heap of camphor?
Hemaangada:
Listen Brahmin!
There are three kinds of
Karma, as you already know.
Praarabdha- Actions of the
past which have begun to take fruit;
Agaami Karma- the results of
the present actions which are yet to bear fruit;
Sanchita Karma- the results
of the actions of innumerable births of the past which still not have begun to
bear fruit.
The first of these alone
remains for the Knower and the other two are burnt away.
When a person realizes the
Self, both the Agaami and Sanchita Karma fruits get annihilated; but the Praarabdha
alone remains.
Since it has already begun to
yield fruit, it continues its course even for the Knower.
Karma matures in course of
time. This is the ordained law of the Creator. When mature, it is bound to
yield its fruits.
But the Karma of the Knower
is rendered ineffective because of Self-Knowledge.
Karma already in the maturing
state and yielding results is called Prarabdha: it is like an arrow already
shot from a bow which must run its course until its momentum is lost.
Perception of the world is
apparently similar to one and all.
Praarabdha of a person
results in creating a particular environment for him.
Knowers view the world around
them differently according to their own levels of Realization.
Pleasure and pain are cognized
by the ‘least among the Sages’, but do not leave any mark on them as in the ignorant.
These Knowers act equanimous to both pain and pleasure. They still have the
sense of what is pleasure and what is pain.
Pleasure and pain operate on
the middle class of Sages in the same way; however, they react only
indistinctly to their surroundings, as a man in sleep does to a gentle breeze
or to an insect creeping over him. They do not bother about either of them.
They find no meaning in
either of them. They too have a very vague sense of what is pleasure and what
is pain.
Pleasure and pain are
experienced by the highest among the Sages; yet they look upon them as unreal
phenomenon equaling a hare’s horn. For them, pleasure and pain are not
indistinct experiences. Nothing bothers them.
The ignorant always experience
pains and pleasures as real. They always make efforts to gain pleasures and
avoid pains. After every experience they remember the measure of pain or
pleasure in every event; reflect over them always; and are left with a strong
impression on their minds.
The ignorant are not aware of
the pure Self; they see it always blemished (as the body). They believe in the reality of objective world
and are therefore affected by the pleasures and pains of life.
The lowest order of Knowers experience
the Self-state intermittently (only when contemplating); and spells of
ignorance overtake them whenever overcome by their Vaasanaas.
They look upon the body as
the SELF and the world as real.
They sometimes conquer the
Vaasanaas with effort. But there is always a struggle between Knowledge and
ignorance - each of them prevailing alternatively.
The Knower tries his best to
attain the Knowledge of the Self and fights the ignorance until it is
thoroughly destroyed, and Self alone remains as his true state.
In that state of Self-Knowledge
there are no differentiations.
Forgetfulness of the Self
never overtakes a middle class Knower and wrong knowledge never possesses him.
However he of his own accord brings out some Vaasanaas from his own mind in
order to maintain his body according to Praarabdha.
This is the conduct of a
Knower who has attained the Self state through sincere practice.
As for the aspirant, there is
no forgetfulness of the Self so long as he is engaged in practicing contemplation.
But the accomplished Knower
never is lost to the Knowledge of the Self and picks out his own Vaasanaas according
to his own choice.
The highest Knower makes no
difference between Samaadhi and worldly transactions. He never finds anything apart
from the Self and so differentiations do not exist for him.
The middle order Knower is
fond of contemplative state of Samaadhi and voluntarily seeks it. He may feel
affected by the world a little when he is engaged in worldly affairs, or even
in the maintenance of his body.
On the other hand, the Knower
of the highest order is always in the Self-state even when dealing with the
worldly affairs and he is never affected by anything.
The Knower of the middle
order and of the highest order have no tinge of Karma left in them because they
are in the Self-state and do not perceive anything apart from the Self.
How can there be anything of
Karma left when the wild fire of Knowledge burns away all the faults of
ignorance?
Knower has the root of misery
cut off at the instant of realizing the Self. It is immaterial for him if he
dies in sacred place or in tainted surroundings; remains conscious or
unconscious before death. He is liberated always.
If one realizes Shiva, the
Self of all even once as guided by his Guru, or by scriptural statements or by enquiry,
there could no longer remain any tinge of obligatory duty on his part because
he is liberated for ever.
His actions appear to be real
only for the ignorant onlooker.
I shall explain this point
further.
The state of the Knower is
said to be identical with that of Shiva.
There is not the least
difference between them.
Therefore Karma cannot taint
a Knower.”
Vasumaan had all his doubts
cleared by this discourse of Hemaangada. He had a clear understanding of true
Realization.
Vasumaan and the prince
saluted each other and returned to their respective places.
END
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