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·SREE RAM PLEADER *
ZATOR OF VICHAR SACAR & VICHAN
THE
VICHAR MA LA
TNINSLATED BY
LALA SREERA M.
Transintor of the licharsnaar,
Pleader of the Courta, and
Late Toshildar, Irihi.
DELHI.
CALCUTTA
HEERAL AL DHO L E
127, MUAJID BAREE STREET,
1886.
(All rights reserved.]
Price Rs. 2.

·CALCUTTA:
PRINTBD BY NILAMDAR VIDYARATNA,--VEDANTA PREEM,
56, EEADON STREET.

·TO THE MEMORY OF ONE, WHO WHILE ALIVE MADE MY LIFE HAPPY ; WHO INSPIRED THOUGHTS AND ASPIRATIONS SIMILAR TO WHAT TIIS WORK TEACHES, WHO ENCOURAGED ME BY COUNSEL AND EXAMPLE TO ENQUIRE INTO SELF, AND TO UNDERTAKE ITS TRANSLATION, -TO MY BELOVED COMPANION NOW NO MORE- AS A SMALL CONSOLATION OF WHAT IS DUE TO HER, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THE TRANSLATOR.

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·PREFACE, THE circumstances under which the present work was written appears at the conclusion, they need no mention. It is hoped that the present translation will be the means of enlarging its circle of readers, more especially as the original Hindi is at best confined within Darrower limits than English. It treats on the doctrine of non-duality, and though not exhaustive, yet it is convincing. To the beginner it will be of much help, as it will enable him to form a correct idea of what Vedantism teaches and its aspiration.

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·INTRODUCTION In introducing the present work to his readers, the translator needs hardly require any excuso to justify it. For & work of such deservedly high repute in the field of spiritual literature especially to the beginner, it has peculiar merits of its own. All metaphysical disquisitions and subtle arguments which can only reach the comprehension of the more advanced student have been purposely abstained from. The main feature of its recommendation is its simplicity, and the cogency of arguments used to convince the truth of that grand doctrine which is the land-mark of all Vedantic treatises, no matter whether written in the learned Sanskrit or the popular Vernaculars. One-ness of the individual Self, with the Parabrahma is the subject with which the work is mainly concerned, and in demonstrating it to a geometrical certainty, frequent reference has been made to the stock arguments of the Vedantin, not forgetting to clear the objections which are possible. To those unaccustomed to such deep thinking and close reasoning as well as fairness to an opponent, especially in the domain of theology, where bold assertion and dogmatic impudence stand for argument, it will be the means of awakening their spiritual instinct so that other works more exhaustive and learned shall be greedily sougho after, till the stock of information is full and the mind satiated and tranquilized finally comes to rest on Self, to taste his natural condition of everlasting intelligence and bliss.

·II INTRODUCTION. : But what is Self ? to say that it stands for the Sanskrit Atma explains nothing. If it be said, that the principle of individuality is Self: to a certain extent that is correct. Self is the eternal intelligence or consciousness that keeps the body alive, ģuides our motions and the senses to their respective fuáctions, Popularly the expression "I am" represents him. In common parlance, we are in the habit of connecting Self with everything :-"I am blind," "I am virtuous," "my house." “I am rich," "I am poor," It is a mistake to think and believe $0. The physical body with its organs of sense and action are engaged in their respective spheres and do their work which we father tipon Self. He is neither blind nor rich, nor anything else. He is the Reality, immaterial, infinite, unborn, and eternal. Reality' because save him everything else is unreal; for while the universe and all its contents are subject to destruction, he alone exists and is so from the beginning to end: this is why he is immaterial. Though matter is indestructible in the strict sense of the term, yet as it undergoes change, very often visibly, and its atoms disintegrated from their original form to form a new and unseen something—notably as in the dissolution of the human body-We are apt to connect it especially in its grosser aspects, with destructibility. Against this, we have Self who is unchangeable. ''Infinite' because time and place cannot put a limit; there is not a single speck in this limitless expanse of matter which you can say is devoid of Self; nor is there a condition of time in which he is not existent, for which he is said to be unborn.-- Because birth indicates a previous period in which a thing did not exist; and what is unborn, is also eternal. It will thus be seen, that his several indica- ·INTRODUCTION. III ones tions are not hap-hazard conjectures but based on sound sense and the story logic of incontrovertible argument. The next question that requires solution is whether Self is one or many fas many as there are individuals. Both the views have their partizans. A Vedantin says he is while the followers of Sankhya regard him manifold ;-as many as there are individuals. They rest their belief on the argument if Self were one, bappiness or misery affecting one person would have been felt by the whole human race; but since it is otherwise, therefore he is not one. To this the Vedantin replies : happiness and misery are felt by the subtle body which is an 'etherial duplicate of the outer physical or as it is otherwise called, gross body, and this subtle body is manifold ; in fact, each individual has his separate subtle body which at death draws the several senses away to be re-incarnated again according to the merit or de merit of the life just closed. Now this subtle body continues to come and go in this way till the individual is emancipated or freed from future re-births. Self according to this view, experiences neither grief dor happiness, he is free from them, and they cannot affect either one way or the other. His normal condition is innate and manifested blissfulness, reflection of which makes a person feel happy now and then. If it be asked, why is this happiness not always felt! Because through the thick veil of matter, or illusion or better stil, ignorance, Jiva who is a reflection of intelligence from Self is deluded into beliefs which have no existence; and it is the province of illusion to create what has no existence whatever; just as a rope is transformed into & soake: but when that ignorance is destroyed through Self-knowledge, the ·IY INTRODUCTION naturally luminous Self hitherto veiled by the is discovered in all his radiant glory and blissfulness, never moresta losest; in the same way, as after the snake has been discovered to be false from the knowledge of rope, it never more assumes the form of spake. Thus then, igoorance plays & very important part, it is the sole cause of our re-births, it leads us astray, making us connect Self with this thing and thatson, wife, riches and the rest-causing unnecessary grief ab their lose, and setting a very high value on the world and its goods; under such circumstances it is the paramount duty of every sensible man to enquire after Self and know him. This can only be done according to the lines laid down in the sacred writings. Every one is not qualified for such knowledge, but those only who are indifferent to sensuous enjoyments, who know the world to be unreal,-a mere production of delusion as things created in dream-who have restrained their senses, subjugated the mind and are desirous of release are the proper persons to attain Selfknowledge. Such a one is to repair to a professor learned in the Vedanta,' serve as to satisfy him and wait his pleasure. The professor naturally kind to all and especially those who take protection of him accosts him endearingly and imparts the much needed instruction in the manner pointed out in the work itself. Some men are so fortunate as to get the coveted knowledge with very little trouble as a return for good deeds in their prior lives and thus succeed to cut off the chain of future re-births. Now this brings us to consider the potency of actions. Thit word signifies the collective totality of works performed 80 ·V D INTRODUCTION. by a person during-uis life-time aftor he has arrived at years of discretis good and bad are alike included in them. There are several varieties of works which need not detain us, suffice it to say that for the good deeds done, one inherits the blissful abode of heaven, as for their reverse, an extremely miserable condition. But as human life is generally made up of both good and bad, a person has to suffer happiness and misery both in one life. Even if he were to be an inmate of heaven, his downward progression to a nether sphere to reap what he had sown is as sure as night follows day: and this rule is so inexhorable that even Iswar cannot stop its force, but must allow things to have their course in their natural order of sequence. Actions are non-eterni. Their products are likewise so. From which it follows that evélo, after acquiring the blissful abode of Brahma one is to rebabilitate the body of an earthly creature. Here it may be contended if action is so inexhorable how can a theosophist be freed? The reply is, there are three grades of rosks. The accumulated, fructescent, and current: of them the first and the last are destroyed by knowledge leaving the fructescent quite unaffected, for which they are said to be exhausted by actual consummation. In short, even a theosophist is compelled to suffer or enjoy happiness as a result of actions done in a prior birth and which have commenced to bear fruit in the present. This is why we find such a vast amount of difference in the graduated scale of happiness everywhere in the world. For instance, bad men are rolling in riches, while the patient and iodustrious are scarcely able to keep body and soul together. Similarly amongst the wise, we find ·VI INTRODUCTION. some receiving due homage while others neglected, and perhaps maltreated. It is said works and worship are needed for eman-pation. But a Vedantin does not admit it. Works and worship are the stepping atones and no more. They clear the mind of all blemishes, render it sleady and tranquil. There their utility ends. Knowledge alone is the one and only means for the destruction of ignorance which envelopes Self and prevents cognition of his natural felicity. If we remember ignorance and matter represent the same substance, consequently when the material out of which the future body is to grow is destroyed there can be no re-birth and that is emancipation. It does not mean annihilation as soyde erroneously affirm, but entering into eternal life and blissffiness, to be conditignally one with the Supreme Brahma. Sulh a condition can no words express, but it is the subjective experience of every theasophist while in his Samadhi In this brief ontline of Vedantism, the present writer has sought only to sketch ita main features, leaving the reader to collect fuller information from the English translations of the Vedantasara, Panchadasi, Vicharsagar etc., etc., they are worth perusing and will amply repay trouble and expence. SREE RAM ·VICHAR MALA. BOOK I. VALEDICTORY STANZA, Gavesh, Shiva, Vishnu, Gouri, Sun-deities five, Destroy & servant's miseries five. Venerable Guru, Gopal, do condescend to show me supreme happiness, Let me cover my head with the dust of your feet to destroy ignorana Sri (Reverend) Harip ssbad full of knowledge and devoid of ignorance Yenvelopment), Lord, and intelligence--my Guru-to him I salute, For the removal of miseries produced from illusion. For the good of myself I adore the five (deities) and Guru, and write the present commentary "Balbodiniof Vichar Mala. At the outset, it is necessary to define the indication of commentary, inasmuch as an object can only be known by its indication and proof. If any question be raised in this manner, it is therefore said, an indication consists in analyzing the words of a sentence, separating them, finding out their meanings, construing them according to the rules of grammar, and their natural connection, and if the literal meaning would in this way create any misapprehension, to remove it; these are the five indications of a commentary. The usual valedictory address is imperatively necessary in all uudertakings like the present; for without a necessity, there can be no inclination ·2 VICHAR MALA. in the ignorant to study a book. Then aain, its successful termination without any let or hinderance is veil Vesirable on the part of the author; and it is a sign of good ben jour, as otherwise the writer may be taken for an athost. Thus the necessity of valediction is clearly established. It has three aspects; it may take the form of ascertaining the Real (BRAHMA); or invoking a blessing; or, as a salutation. -Reality' signifies the Supreme Self either with or without attributes; and to speak of It with a view of helping a person to know, is called 'ascertaining the Reality.' 'Invoking a blessing' is to pray for it from one's own deity. This is now being declared along with the necessity of the work in the following verse. Salutations be to the Venerahle RAM, Who is everlasting intellig ace and bliss ; Who knows the world is all a dream, And destroys illusion' roduced from) ignorance. [Obs.] Here both the personal and impersonal have been invoked; for, the predicate 'venerable' signifies one with qualities that excite veneration, therefore 'venerable RAM stands for a personal deity with qualities good. He is overlasting intelligence and bli88, which is another name for the Imųersonal BRAHMA, without any attributes. To both of them, has salutation been offered. The second relative pronoun 'who' establishes a connection. 'Everlasting' signifies who knows no destruction in the three periods of time, and pervades everywhere. 'Intelligence' is indestructible manifestibility; and 'Bliss' is the opposite of misery, that is without any trace of it. It is supreme happiness or felicity, from the perception of which, ignorance and its product, the material world are destroyed to all intents and purposes, though not actually :* * The world it not actually destroyed as in Pralaya. When a man has acquired Self-knowledge it ceases to be a reality, that is meaut.

·It is the of darkness full of misery. Self-knowledge VICHAR MALA. 3 just as dream objectius destroyed on waking, because of the discovery them were an illusion. And what is the world like? destroys norance which is the source of phenomena ; and without it there can possibly be no perception of supreme felicity. Hence the acquisition of this supreme felicity is the purport which the work seeks to procure. RAM-full is the real preceptor and kind; when With the wise and good, company is kept, A person knows worthless is His affection for enjoyments. But the passage is apt to create misapprehension, for, how can a person addicted or attached to material comforts, and desirous of enjoying them can have knowledge of BRAHMA? It is cleared in the following wise. "Wise' and 'good' stand for a theosophist whose indi tions will be mentioned in the sequel ; 'company' is meant to sn nify attachment or affection for him. 'RAM-full' is to concentrate the mind on Iswara by meditation. "Real preceptor' is one who has knowledge of BRAHMA. Kind' refers to the precepts which he imparts to his pupils out of sheer kindoess, on the transcendental phrase. That art thou." Then, & person knows BRAHMA to be nondifferent from himself, and that non-duality is the subject of the present treatise. Mention will be made of the 'qualified individual' in the fourth section. The first verse speaks of the purport; their 'relation' will be established from the description of each. * There are four incentives I. Qualified person. II. The subject. III. The relation. IV. The purport or necessity.

·VICHAR MALA. Bending to the worshipful feet of bliss, and Sri Deva Krishna I salute, And write the present work fixing the head on my Guru. "The author continues his valedictory address and pays his respects to Siva and Krishna apparently, but in the sense of Impersonality, and for that purpose introduces the words full of bliss and Sri which are made to imply bliss and truth respectively, therefore BRAHMA. But the literal meaning of the second word is beauty, and beauty is personal attraction, therefore it is apt to create an impression of personality which is material, therefore unreal. To clear this point, it is said, a theosophist regards this material expanse to be unreal; 'full of Sri' signifies truth. Now Krishna destroyed the giant Mur, for which one of his name is Murari, and salutations are offered to his wrshipful feet. Here then is a reference to the personal as ect of BRAHMA; and Krishna as a destroyer of the giant L-ur, and called Murari by the inhabitants of Baikunta, was no other than an incarnation of BRAHMA. He who reads the work and retains it in his mind becomes dumb [leaves off useless talk]: or the last line may be taken to signify, I take mubrage of my Guru (remember him in my heart] while writing it. But what is dumbness? There are four varieties of it viz. (a) Dumbness of speech ; (6) Dumbness of the senses ; (c) Dumbness of mind; and, (d) of knowledge. Of them, which did your Guru adopt? This may be asked of the writer, and he proceeds to answer : Each Shastra is guided by these considerations, for in the absence of a qualified person no instruction can be imparted so as to make it produce the desirable result. "Subject' is the ascertainment of non-duality or oneness of Jiva and BRAHMA. Relation' between the subject which the work treats and the Shastra; and its 'purport' is to procure 'release' or emancipation.

·VICHAR TALA. Am I, or am not, the five sheaths ? Freed from all doubts, why the Supreme Self is fully cognised, there all dumbawa merges. 'Afrio refers to the five sheaths viz: foodful, respiratory, mental, cognitional and blissful. Self, pervading them like a thread is called thread-soul (Sutratma), and he is BRAHMA. "To know him so, and recognize him as quite distinct from them, and to remove all doubts concerning him “whether or not am I the five s' eaths ? * is the finale of knowledge. To this effect, the testimony of the Sruti is "When perception of that BRAHMA follows, a person is freed from all doubts which used to affect his heart, and he has no more need of works." "So long as a person lives, he should serve his Guru, and Iswara and study the Shastras with reverence and faith," 80 say the Shastras; ad lest the author be taken for an ingrate he shows reverent to his Gury in the following strain : Mother and father, brodher and friend, Spiritual preceptor, king, and life: Anath says, Guru is superior to them all; For," he gives knowledge and cognition. A Guru (spiritual preceptor) is giver of visible knowledge of Self. He is superior to mother, father, brother, friend_who does a good act without expecting any return-the family deity, king and even one's life. For mother and father by giving birth to a son make him a subject of misery by instilling into him the acquisition of material comforts, educating in that way and otherwise befitting him to be entranced into the meshes of illusion; but a real professor creates in his pupil a desire of release which finally ends in his disenthralment aud the acquisition of BRAHMA, whose sole essence is joy. He is luminous like the Sun, He illuminates the mind and expands it;

·6 IRMALA Just as the sun does a lotus. An unqualified person can never experid.se bliss. Which Self is full of; just as The red water-lotus expands not its petals 21th the SUD, The illumination of a professor is well known to all' men. Because he expands the lotus of the heart of an enquirer, and prepares it to receive knowledge just as the sun's rays expand the petals of the water-lotus. Unqualified persons in this respect resemble the red lotus which expands with the moon, and they experience not the blissfulness of Self: in the same way, as with the appearance of the sun, owls take to their hiding place. Benefits conferred by a professor are now being shown by the method of natural connection of cause and effect and its exclusion, From his kind precepts, i' asions are destroyed, Rises knowledge and th: world appears a dream. When through kindness, a professor gives instruction on Self-knowledge, the envelopment of ignorance is removed and Self is made appear in his real condition, so that all illusions are at an end. To this end the Gita says “Knowledge of Self enveloped by ignorance, makes a Jiva subject to illusion." And when that illusion is destroyed, conceit for the body, wife and children, house and wealth (which hitherto a person used to connect to Self as "I am master of this house." "I have a son" etc., etc.) is destroyed just as objects created in dreams are destroyed with the opening of the eyes. Without Guru, illusion attributes to Self What he is not, just as a dog in a glass house Barks at his own reflection; or as A Lion fell into the well seeing another in water, Unless a person be so fortunate as to meet with a real professor, he cannot do away with illusion which attributes L ·VICHAB MALA. 7 body, organs of sens luud action etc. to Self, and makes him say amader:" in short, Self is an agent and instrument of enjoyst subject to birth and death. Just as a dog entering a glius house is annoyed at the sight of another dog on the glass, which is a reflected shadow only, or as a lion fell intc: a well at the sight of his own shadow reflected in the water. Where is he to be found ? An ocean of kindness, he is discovered in earth. Kuowledge and cognition of Self are his gems. The very contact of his words touching the body Makes the igoorant wise. A Guru is an ocean of kindness. He is found in earth he discovers himself and nothing can hide him: and as in the bed of the ocean gems abound, so in him there must be gems otherwise the simile will not be complete; therefore it is said, knowledge of Self, and his cognition are the gems found in him; like the ocean waves touching the body of a when he is said to have a bath water sprinkled with gems, the words of a Guru coming in relation with the ears through the knowledge they impart, help the ignorant to know Self to be nondifferent from the Supreme Iswara ; and cognizes him accordingly. If the precepts of a professor are capable of producing knowledge of Self, the usual means, 'Discriminaperson * Connecting Self with the body is to say "I am lean." Similarly the common expressions "my hands," "my feet," "my eyes," "I am a Brahman" "I am a doer of virtuous works" eto. All these are instances shewing the popular mistake brought about by ignorance or illusion. A Guru by the help of negative and positive methods of analyses does away with these mistakes, and helps his pupil to have a direct cognition of Self. Then he no more thinks Self to be his body, hands and feet, mind, or intellect, but recognises him as the Indestructible, eternal Intelligence, full of blissfulness, the abstract truth, ·8 yin MALA. tion,' 'Indifference and the rest winniseless; to remove this misapprehension it is said Like the sun's rays collected in the focus of a parning glass Producing fire, from the kind instruction of Ę Guru is the mind made faultless. A burning glass can only produce firo, when the rays of the sub are focalised or concentrated in its centre; similarly from the kindness of a Guru, the instruction he imparts to a qualified person frees his mind of all blemishes such as (1.) Discrimination is to know Self as the only Reality and every thing else to be unreal. (2.) Indifference is an utter disregarder enjoyment either in this life or the next. (3.) Passivity, Self control etc. (a) Passivity is to keep lhe mind aloof from sensuous objects. () Self-control is to subdue the external organs of sense. (c) Abstinence is to keep the senses away from sensuous objects, after they Lave been already turned away. (d) Endurance is to bear the extremes of heat and cold, hunger and thirst. (e) Concentrating the mind is to engross the attention of the subjugated mind on Self. (f) Faith is to have a belief in the Vedanta and preceptor. (4.) Emancipation is desire of release. To be freed from consecutive re-births or metempsychosis which is called bondage. These are the four means for attaining Self-knowledge and he who has them is called a "qualified person :" to him alone is instruction to be given by a preceptor as that will bear fruit. To another, it will be simply waste of time and energy, hence the Shastras insist about the four incentives; and a professor should always be careful to select his pupil with the qualifications herein cited. > ·VICHA ZĀLA, Joubts, wavering or the rest; and to another, that does not create any consistency. Because the qualified individual is one is said to be possessed of the four means of Selfknowledge. In that case, Guru cannot be equally inclined to all, for to the ignorant he would appear iuimical. That there is no need for such a misappreheosion is shown in the verse following- As the moon makes the moonstone forsake nectar at once ; So the sight of a Guru's face, helps the cognition of BRAHMA to a pupil. Like the fabulous gem called moonstone, receiving the light of the moon, forsaking nectar (amrita) not because the nocturnal orb is more favorably inclined to it and is inimical to nectar, but she is equally (posed to all objects and illuminates them accordingly; so th sight of the Guru's face helps a pupil to perceive or experience BRAHMA in Self, and if an unqualified person is not similarl influenced, it is not because a Guru is ioimical to him, but for his ignorance which is his disqualification : therefore the sight of a Guru is equally favorable to all alike. Having taken protection of such a real professor what is the pupil to do? So he enquires- Worshipful preceptor, I have taken protection with thee, Do out of mercy remove my misery. Kind and reverend preceptor, I have left the world, discarded every thing, and taken thy protection, I pray at thy feet to take mercy on me a poor ignorant person, to impart me * [Vide note ante) IL ·10 VICH MALA. 'that instruction on Self-knowledge wha. will remove my miseries (destroy metempsychosis). Lord ! helpless and without a preceptor, am Ì Extremely miserable, and sinking in the sea of earthlife, Do thou, kind sire, stretch a helping hand To make me cross it over. The pupil continues his appeal to his Guru and invokes the aid of his instruction for cutting off transmigration. He styles himself, au orphau-literally without the protecting care of a guardian ; and as he is extremely miserable on account of his discrimination of the utter unreality of phenomena, (but has not yet got the knowled, wherewith to discover BRAHMA in Self, to cause his release he therefore says “I am sinking in the sea of earth-life," – wfflicted with birth and death and afraid of them. Do please ut off transmigration so that I may cross the sea of birth a .d death through thy instruction which would serve the perpose of a sailing craft. The cause is now reiterated thus : Desire, thirst, and thoughts innumerable, Distract me at one time, How then cau I fix my heart constantly on BRAHMA ? Desire' refers to incessant wish for the acquisition of material comforts, 'thirst' is to banker after fresh objects after desire for one set of enjoyments has been gratified; and 'thoughts' relate to the preservation of what has already been acquired and to struggle for fresh. This third variety is present along with the two others, and they distract the internal organ. Under such circumstances, how is it possible for me to fix the mind on Self? For that end, it is necessary that the mind should concentrate its attention ; but these thoughts are inimical to it.

·VICHARALA. Il My mind affected with healthy and unhealthy ughts. feels very miserable like a husband tormented infessantly with two quarrelling wives. As a husband is always worried by his two wives quarrelling among them, so am I in extreme misery, for the mind being sometimes influenced or actuated by good desires and their reversc. And for an identity of relation of the good and bad, from illusion or ignorance of Self being quite unaffected by them, as he is free and actionless, I attribute misery to him. Desire is a river, with good and bad for its banks, Gratification its water, thirst wave, and illusion whirlpool Mother words, never casing desire for the acquisition of material comforts is compagd to a river, bounded by the banks of discrimination of meri Qrious works and their reverse, filled with the water of gratificat pn, that is to say, the means for accomplishment of objects desired and struggling to that purpose, with the heavy surges bf 'thirst' and 'whirlpool' of illusion, which hurl an individual to re-birth from ignorance of Self and connecting him with this or that,—the physical body and the rest. In that river the presence of animals is thus declared : Passions are animals many, thinking is the current strong; One who has subjugated them, is free from pain, but myself am miserable. Affection, anger and lust resemble the aquatic animals, fishes, tortoise and the rest, and thoughts represent a current with its velocity. To restraiu the mind so as not to allow its being modifiod for the acquisition of material welfarc; to sit paticntly in a retired place aloof from the rest, for the practice ·12 VICE MALA. * of enquiring after Self, remove alla mina s. They (passions etc.] have brought all sorts of pain to me, anàym helpless. Good and bad (works] are two strong phants fighting They make me forget Self, and betake to them, Like two elephants fighting against each other furiously, a person experiences grief by undertaking works, forgetting Self is no other but BRAHMA; and for attributing to him all enjoyments and miseries through the same ignorance is necessarily reduced to the helplessness of an orphan. Fickleness of the mind as a source of grief is thus described by the pupil. My mind knows no rest, thoug? it struggles for it. Just as a juggler's marmot cia tree. I have tried to concentrate the mind but to no purpose, it is as unsteady as a juggle $ marmot, trained to show bis wiles, is never quiet for a mov ánt. Like the leaves of th: Ficus Religiosa, A banner, wind, lighit of a lamp etc. My mind is unsteady naturally; And I am therefore helpless. Naturally the leaves of the ficus religiosa are in a constant state of uorest, so are air, a banner, light of a lamp etc., and like them mental function is unsteady, and in constant motion, taking this and that for its subject. Hence I am helpless. Now this pervasion of the mental function is a source of grief, as it produces a liking for material well-being. This is now being explained by the pupil Anath :- Like fire which naturally has an upward motion; Mind, unsteady, from the beginning, pervados all objects.

·VICHAPALA. 13 Like the purifrag fire, which purification arising at the sametime with the kindling of fire having an upward motion, mind y' is naturally fickle from the beginning of time, pervades objects which are capable of enjoyment and its reverse, is bent after their acquirement, and shows its attach-** ment for them. Why is mind unsteady? Whether the world is uoreal or real? One cannot part with his house and family. A house-holder resembles a snake Swallowing a mole, which it neither swallows nor can let go. ! Doubts are the so srce of fickleness or unsteadiness of the mind. For instance, when they assume the form of the reality or otherwise of the naterial universe. Whether, if unreal, it is produced of itself, through the agency of another ? Whether that another is Jiva or Iswara ? If it be Iswara's creation whether he was ordained to do it or not? Is such control visible or not? Now the doubts are not capable of being removed by ordinary explanation, and they are a source of paip: like a snake swallowing a mole which it is unable either to throw or gulp down. Because in the former case the swallowing is sure to take out its eyes, and in the latter the body of the snake is to become loathsome. Now the Guru removes these doubts and speaks with kindness thus : "Have faith in my words and clear your doubts." With kindness the Guru replies to his pupil in answer to his queries about the reality etc., of this vast expanse. Pupil, depend upon my words ; for Bhagwan Sri Krishna says in the Gita "A man of faith acquires knowledge from the utterances of the. Vedas." And as the words of a theosophist are equal to the Vedas, inasmuch as a knower of BRAHMA is BRAHMA, ·14 VICHA MALA. and as they cannot be refuted, anyhow van oppositionist, bence his words are said to be 'unshaken.' The means for destroying fickleness of mind the pupil had expressed his inability to accomplish are now being set ferth by the professor. Undoubtedly the mind is unsteady; but restrain it, By hearing the precepts of nonduality from me according to the Sruti. In other words, what you say pupil, about the natural insteadiness of the mind is undoubtedly correct; and as it is a source of extreme pain by pervading a variety of objects, sometimes hungering after wealth, at others after other objects with the fond hope of enjoying happiness, it is necessary it should be thoroughly restrained. knd this can only follow from the precepts of oneness of Jivand Brahma, which I am about to expound according to Syuti. If you would constantly think on this nonduality and wpeatedly practise it, that will concentrate mind and its insteadiness will cease. To this the pupil expres us his disqualification for practice, though he is desirous oføknowing the means of restraining the mind and holding it in. Says he: My mind is inclined to material comforts, I have not obtained victory over it; Therefore practice is difficult for me. I humbly bow down in reverence to thine feet. Do (out of kindness impart that instruction] As will remove my fear of [birth and death). Lord! It is impossible for me to follow the practice pointed out viz: of hearing the precepts on nonduality, constantly to think on it and repeat the practice of firmly holding it in mind: for one who has conquered or subjugated his mind is only capable of it, whereas I am addicted to run after your ·VICHARSHLA. 15 material comforts.umbly bow down in reverence to thy worshipful formation and take protection of them, do shew me au easier moud, whereby I may succeed to destroy the fear of birth and death from death my recollection. Replies the Guru- Hear my word pupil, which a persou wants to benefit himself by; If you like to remove your fears, keep company with the wise, One that is desirous of ascertaining the blissfulness of Self and of causing the destruction of ignorance-the source of phenomena-has recourse to the instruction conveyed by the help of the transcendental phrase “That art thou.” Listen to its signification, that you may likewise be successful in a similar way; and if you find yourself incompetent, keep company of the wise and devout.: If a mole be swallowed y a snake, it dies, If it lets go the mole, its sight is destroyed ; If it gets into water, it feels comfort, Just sp, a man experiences happiness in the company of the wise. Says the author- A Guru is kind to his poor pupil, He offers benefit without stint To one who takes protection of him, And destroys his miseries. He is extremely liberal. That is to say, for his destroying the miseries of his pupils, a Guru is called extremely kind to the poor and helpless, und as they leave off all desire of material well-beirg when taking protection of him, and he imparts the necessary instruction without stint, to help them to the cognition of Self who is extreme blissfulness, he is hence said to be liberal.

·16 Vita P MALA. The first pupil disappeared after rau... doubts about the reality etc., of the world, found he the piraçinal source of misery, aud coguised Self which was invisible before.no ·VICP MALA. 17 BOOK II. WITH a desire of finding out a theosophist, the pupil enquires of his professnr about his indications. Lord ! speak unto me, kindly, the indications of thewise; That I may properly serve him for Self-benefit Worshipful sire, out of kindness, inform mc the marks by which a wise person is to be distinguished, that I may find him out, and please hii with my service, for deriving benefit by his instruction on Self-knowledge. ON THE SIGNS OF THE WISE. Replies the Guru :-(he isty Extremely kind, has no site in him, Endowed with passivity ex., devoid of action, enduring. Mild in his disposition, and bent After tio well-being of all. He is said to be extremely kind, because he has no inten. tion of deriving any benefit hereafter for showing his kindness and that is why he has got no enmity for any one. 'Enduring signifies bearing the extremes of climatic influences, honor and shame, hunger and thirst etc. He is always patient in his endurance; and this is called the best of all dispositions. Then again, he is endowed with passivity, subjugation of the external organs of sense, etc.,* which you are not to interpret AS 80 many indications, marks, features or signs of one desirous of release, and not of a theosophist. Because', a person who is devoid of any desire of action either for immediate benefit or * Vide note ante page 8. III ·18 WICHIR TA. subsequently in another sphere of existeidt, is descrvedly called 'wise'; and there is a mention of it took to the verse aforesaid, as also of his mildness of disposition ;-benfator the ell-being of all persons taking protection of himmoy helping them to attain tho felicity of BRAHMA (which is upattainable] and preserving it A knower of Self is hc,-devoid of mental blemishes, Never engaged in useless endeavour, and profound; Free from crror, envy, passion and desire. A sage-full of consideration and tranquility. Here are fresh indications of a theosophist. A knower of Self signifies a person who has ascertained him to be distinct from the five sacs, three bodies and;- pure intelligence only by the usual method of analysis called severally Anvaya and Bytireka.* That is to say, the perception of Self as a witness in profound slumber is his conqrition (like a thread in which beads are hung) and the absince of cognition of the physical body in that cognition of Sell is the exclusion of that body (as the exclusion of a thred in a pearl or emerald necklace). Similarly the experience of Self in profound slumber is his connection, and want of perception of the subtle body is his exclusion ; and in profound meditation, the experience of felicity is from a similar connection of Self, and want of perception of Ignorance which forms the cause body is its exclusion. Therefore, Self is distinct from the three bodies physical, astral and cause. Now the five sacs are included in those three bodies, hence they require no separate montion to sbew their distinction from Self. To this end the Sruti testimony is “The cause of enjoyment in the three conditions of waking, dreaming and profound slumber, as well as the enjoyer and objects enjoyed is distinct from Self," and "I am always propitious. 'Useless endeavour' is the pursuit of material * Anvaya is the natural connection of cause and effect, Bytireka its reverse or exclusión.

·VICEATMÁLA. 19 objects with a va' hope of procuring happiness, but which ends in fail, 3; a knower of Self is without it. He is likewise f froin blemishes in the shape of passions and desire, envy, spite and the rest which unclean the internal organ, (make it faulty]: he is perfectly clean in his body too, and in his habits and the place he dwells, by a liberal use of water in the form of ablutions, and sanctifies his dwelling similarly with water and earth ctc. He is free from the habit of collecting any external objects, profound in knowledge of the unknowable, devoid of all illusions and envy, and for 'consideration' of the nature of Self, he is said to be tranquil; and that tranquillity is his devotional cxcrcise; as laid down in the following verse, cited in evidence (for the wise). "Beyond tranywillity-there is not another exercise equal to it, Contentment is supreme felicity. Independence of thirslyfter riches etc., causes no pain : And of all virtues-merly is the best." He is likewise patient in end rance. [And is onc] Who holds the six qualities in him, is clever in proofs; Who regards practically every one with respect; Who wants not to disgrace; and speaks with trie. affection, Who is full of sympathy and kindness to all. The six qualities at held by the physical body, vital airs, and mind, and one who has thoroughly brought them under control, who koows the purport of the Vedas which are authoritative proofs, and in practice shows due regard to every one besides himself, who wants not to be insulted, and is determined in ascertaining the truth, for he knows it to be the foundation of all virtues, who has left aside untruth, is full of sympathy for all alike in this way,—and beut after the amelioration 12 ·20 VICHA MALA. of the dull, worldly-minded as well as an Inquirer of knowledge, is a sage. Praise and retiling, friend and foe, Happiness and misery, honor and shamc; Brahma and straw, nectar or poison, Gold and glass, for him are equally indifferent. He is perfectly indifferent to praise or its reverse, he regards not the "affection of a friend, nor is affected by the attacks of an enemy. Happincss and misery, caused as they are, by the modification of the active quality of the internal organ, bring him no distraction ; Brahmâ and straw, nectar or poison, gold and glass are of no concern to him, though ordinarily, men are found to bunger af r the former and forsake the latter. Because he knows them to be all impermanent, hence unreal, and the enjoyments they bring forth are all short-lived. Therefore, he is said to b, Indifferent to good nd bad alike, his heart is cold; For it bas lost its a.dour (thoroughly been restrained). Subtle his thought, good friend of men, Without egoism ; and pure intelligence only. Now, from what has already been said, it is clear that he is supremely indifferent to happiness or woe etc. He regards them with an equal cye, for which he is called 'cold-in other words, having restrained and fully subjugated his heart, he is no more distracted with worldly desires, and has got rid of them. His mind has for its subject BRAHMA, who is subtler than the subtlest, and of whom the Sruti says “One whose envelopment of ignorance has been destroyed sees BRAHMA with the aid of his subtle intellect, and the teachings of the Shastras." He is friend of the world; he loves all men and creatures. He is intelligence only without any conceit for his body.

·VICHA DALA. 21 Why is he a friena? Fwd of all, free from illusion, in Enjoys supreme contentment; has forsaken all. His ivealth is knowledge of Self, whom He knows to be free from birth and death. 0 Inasmuch as a theosopbist knows Self, to be one and allpervading, equally present everywhere in all creatures, he regards them with affection and friendliness. His intellect is free from illusion, and as he has abandoned wife and house, wealth and children, (which is easily done), and illusory attribution of not-Self to Self, (a feat difficult of accomplishment), he is therefore said to be full of contentment,--the actual blissfulness of Self. I 3 is endowed with the usual accomplishments of an adept viz., lightness and the rest,* and knowledge. This enables him to know Self is neither subject to rebirth nor is he desirous of releas', (for that can apply only if he were destined to be born again). To this end, the Sruti testimony is “Self is not bound, e is not subject to birth, -bois no instrumgnt for accomplishing the means of emancipation) neither is he desirous of release, he is frce (from ignorande]." The course of his intellect is blissful and subtle his hody, Without the three attributes and motives. Past are his miseries, and easy in mind. These are the embellishments of the wise. * Anima is lightness. Garima its reverse. Adopts are said to have them, by their knowledge of certain occult forces which givo the power of reducing distance, projecting the astral body. Levitation, occult telegraphy eto., are the other extraordinary feats. Those are referred here.

·22 VITTI - R MALA. In addition to what has already been mentioned, the other marks of distinction of a theosophist are thinness of the body, intellect modified into the perception of blissfulness hereft of the qualities good, active and dark, and desire of anythingirense motiveless; as mentioned in Mahimand "He has no illucinn of material well-being like that of a mirage creating the mistake of water, consequently resting in Self, he is nover distracted." Then again, he is devoid of the five sorts of pain, ignorance, passion and desire, pursuit after an object and conceit. Ignorance is of two sorts :-(1) cause-ignorance and (2) product or action-ignorance. The second variety is meant above, and it admits of a sub-division into four sorts. These are:-(1) To regard unreal, real; (2) to experience happiness in grief; (3) to consider cleanliness in unclean; and (4) to look upon not-self as Self. For example, the several abodes of Brahma, one's ancestors, etc., are impermanent, and to regard them otherwise i. e., real and etrrnal. Cultivation, trade, and the various avocations are pair'ful, and are sources of misery, yet to perceive happiness in onnection with them. A wife and children are always unclan in their bodies, yet to consider them as clean. The physical body is not Seli, wad tu copsluer it in that light. All these are so many forms of ignor, uce, or call it A-krowledge (Avidyd). 'Conceit' is a subtle form of egoism. “Passion' is another name for love; 'spite' refers to enmity, 'pursuit' stands for ardent desire. These five sorts of pain touch him not, he is without them; and his intellect is unaffected by the active and dark qualities, but is puro light. These then are the ornaments of a theosophist. But lest there be any misapprehension as to another person being mistaken for him, it is said :- [His] relation of Self [subjective) is indescribable A little of that relation with another objective) Is now being set forth; and the Glory of keeping company with him.

·VICHAR VATA, 24 by a pern Pupil. A sage wir is of vast experience, has two sorts of indications "iz., subjective and objective. What is known nimself is called 'subjective' what is known by another is called 'objective.' In other words, though situated Dear death, yet he is never affected with any fear about it. The other indications (subjective] as for instance, destruction of ignorance, and its envelopment which conceals the real blissfulness of Solf are not possible for one to describe; the objective indications have only been briefly alluded to by me. Now listen to the grcatness (superior result] which companionship of the wise produces. That companionship is like the fabled tree Yielding whatever is asked of it. It Gratifies all de res; His words are like nectar, destroying all pain. For producing the desirable result, companionship of the wise has been compared to the fabled tree of which the story goes, a person receives all that he asks of it. Here even the resemblance is complete; as a theosophist gratifics all the desires of a person, no matter whe her his prayer be regarding tue "ccumula of wealth, possession of wife and children, or of a blessed abode hereafter. To one who has abandoned all desires, his instructions conveyed in sweet harmonious words, flowing like nectar, kindles knowledge and through that, removes spiritual, elementary and accidental miseries. Spiritual misery' is that which a person feels on account of hunger and thirst. * In the domain of disease tho subjective symptoms are those which a patient experiences as intense headache, pain in the body, etc. Objective symptoms are those recognized by the doctor and friend, as swelling, heat, redness etc. Similarly, here the subjective indications aro a matter of personal experience, for which it is said they are difficult of being fully described, while the objective aro easily recognized by another.

·24 VICH AR MALA. 'Accidental,' that caused by beasts of prey, poisoned reptiles, a thief etc. 'Elementary' includes visitations of the deity, haratrolled by Yaksha, Rakshas, ghosts, or elementaries as they are called as also from heat, cold, wind. --. The sandal of his feet removes sin when touching the body of another; They are holy places of pilgrimage. His words tranquillize the mind, His kindness helps the acquisition of the Supreme • BRAHMA. Here then, the utility of besmearing one's body with the dust of his preceptor's feet is fully declared. They are pared to sandal paste, and holy places & pilgrimage. Like a person visiting Benares, Brindabun, Jagganuath, Dwarka, Hurdwar etc., etc., the dust of his feet extinguishes sin, as mentioned by Bhagwan Sree Krishna in the Gita (Chapter XI) [a theosophist] "who is full of good quality (Satwa) should be served by attending to his,'eet, for he clears all impurities." His words produce tranquillity of mind, and his kind instructions pave the way to Beansta—the finality of all knowled.com As in the following text. “One is freed without knowledge simply from his professor's kindness." com- Company of the wise is like a sea of blissfulness; Emancipation is only Self-blissfulness. The purport of his utterance is profound, And capable of being grasped by a person of restrained mind Pupil. Companionship of the wise is a sea of felicity, the esoteric signification or purport of his utterances is its depth,. and one who has restrained his mind dives into that sea to achievement nation by merging indissolubly into BRAHMA, to be one with It. shi ·VICHAR MALA. Enquires the piiput. I have heard it mentioned in the Vedu, that the finality of happiness on the earth is in thc positir. a sovereigu; an ordinary Gandharba bas a buodred times more of happiness thau that sovereigo ; a Deva Gandharba is hundred times happier than a human Gandhi vu; a departed ancestor is hundred times more so than Duvee Gandharba; an Ajana Deva hundred times more happier still; a Karna I sva hundred times more so than the last; the principal Deva is hundred times more so than a Rarma Deva, as Indra is hundred times happier than the principal Deva Brihaspati: the Deva Guru is hundred times happier than Indru; and Prajaputi is hundred times happier than Brihaspati, Hiranyagarbha (Brahmâ) is hundred times happier than Prajapati, and the hilissfulness of emancipation is illiinitable compared with that of Iliranyagarbha's. Please say to which of these grades of happiness is companionship of the wisc equal ? To this the Guru replics. It is superior to all of them in the following manner. A moment's happiness of that company Is incomparably superior to that of cmancipation. Knor, ven the happiness of Brahunâ, Indra, And the rest, is infinitely small. Pupil. A moment's happiness derived from the companionship of the wise cannot be compared, as equal to that of cmancipation; the former is superior to the latter, consequently the happiness of Brahmå or Indra, or of a sovereign exercising his sway over a good many tributary states, is extremely insignificant and worthless, and can therefore stand in no comparison to it. Know this to be a fact. But it may excite doubt: for, since that happiness is dependent on another, limited by his wishes, and subject to his control, it may or may not follow; under such circumstances, how can it be said to be equal to the bliss of emancipation-the IV ·26 VICHAR MALA. subject explained in the Vedanta ? Alto šo say so is inconsistent, if not absurd. To this the reply is The world is illusory; and source of bondage Not destroyed by anything else. But he who keeps company of the wise Is easily freed from re-births. The world is a product of illusion, and if it knows no decline, yet as a source of subjecting a person to metempsychosis, it is destroyed not by any'work or devotional exercise, but by constant company of the wisc, thereby procuring knowledge. If then, by knowledge derived from associating with the wise, a person is frecd, as you say, kindly iuform me whether good works help a person to find that company? To this the professor now returns an answer. A professor is like a milch cow giving milk as often desired, Or like the fabled tree, giving desirable results, In a moment, to a person Who serves him, and attends on him. Pupil. By serving a milch cow known by the name of Kamdhenu and propitiating the fabled tree for an indefinitely long time, a person obtains the desired results, hence they are not equal to serving a professor by attending on, or keep. ing company with him; it produces immediate gratification of desires. As the philosopher's stone produces gold instantly by contact, so company of the wise may not be inaptly compared equal to it? In this manner a pupil enquires; to wbich the Guru utters :- Between a philosopher's stone And associating with the wise, ·VICH MALA. 27 1 The difference is great, that makes iron gold; Thi, makes one equal to it. philosopher's stone converts iron into gold only, and not into what it is itself, but as by serving a theosophist a panca becomes himself a theosophist, hence their difference is grn. Because with the knowledge imparted to him by the professor he becomes a Brat ma, and is freed from transmigration. Asks the pupil. Lord, say whether the usual works for procuring the company of a Guru are productive of results or not? And is thus mot in reply. More than a Brahmana duly initiated and practising lawful works, A person rece. 'es results at cvery step, when repairiog to the wise. A superior Brahmana of the Goutam, Poulastya etc., (Gotra) sect, who has been properly initiated, and had received the sacred thread before he was eight years old, always engaged in the performance of sacrificial works laid down in the Vedas, as for instance offering clarified butter to fire in mrescribed aner, and deriving the results spoken of in the rastras, cannot stand in the scale when weighed with serving the wise : for, a person with a desire of associating with a Guru receives the desirable results at each step, as he advances, when repairing to him. [In short the very first step that he puts on the ground, while repairing to a theosophist, brings him good results). Virtues like kindness and the rest; restraining the mind, Devotional exercise and the recanting of sacred texts, Abstaining from prohibited works, indifference and gift, What results they produce, are equally produced by serving a Guru.

·28 VICIER MALA. Devotional exercises' include the repetition of the sacred Gayatri and Om. 'Restraining the mind' includes the exércise of an equal restraint on the eleven organs of senstheto keep them off from sensuous objects. Abstaining from prohibited Wurtes' refers to slaying a Brahmana, and other equally sinful altwand 'indifference' is to pay no heed to works good and bad. Gift includes charity-daily to give away something. Now whatever results proceed from an observance of these meritorious actions, are equally capable of being realized by a person keeping company with the wise. Says the pupil. For removing the blemishes of the internal organ, and rendering it faultless, it is necessary to undertake pilgrimage to holy placos, and serving the divinities found there, in addition to serving a Guru. Who serves the sacred Ganges etc., with faith as to its utility Derive similar results from serving a Guru. A person with a desire of rendering his internal organ faultless, bathes in the sacred Ganges and worships her with faith as to her utility: similar results cquallyenre derived from companionship of the wise and serving them. Bhagavan ! for concentrating the mind, worship of Ida- 929agarbha and other Devas is needed. Worship of Brahma and the other Devas, Whatever results they produce, Are derived at once from Companionship of the wise. That concentration of the mind following from the worship of Hiranyagarbha, Vishnu, Siva, Ganes and other Devas, easily results from the company of the wise. For ascertaining non-duality, a variety of subjects are necessary to be studied, so thinks a pupil. He therefore says, ·VICHAR MALA. One who has studied the Vedas and other Shastras Derives knowledge of Self; but serving a Guru brings instantly. There are four Vedas. Rig, Sam, Yajur and Athurba ; and four additional Vedas, Agror etc., and six members or limbs as Grammar etc.; eighteen Puranas, Brahma, Vishnu, Padma, Matsya, Varul, Agni, etc., besides Nyaya, Mimansa and Dharma Shastras. When a person bas studied them, he arrives at the knowledge of Self one with Brahma; but his study must range for an indefinite period ere he is capable of cognising Brahma; whereas from serving a Guru, that knowledge is produced in an instant, and he experiences "I am Brahma." As mentioned in reference to Janak and Ashtabakra, "That non-duality which has been the subject of ten millions of works and treated there, I speak unto you in a single verse its purport :-Brahma is Real, the world unrcal, and Jiva is Brahma." What are Sumeru and Kylas Mountains, They are not equal in height to serving Guru : Like the famed Vindhya Hills Impregnating trees growing there with sweet scent; Company of the wise Imparts the fragrance of knowledge to a pupil. Sandal trees grow in the Vindhya Hills, therefore it is said, as the Malaya mount impregnates its natural and inherent fragrance to trees growing there or (converts every one of them into sandal]; so does a theosophist converts persons living with him into good. Hence his equality with the mount is complete. But it may be argued, the golden mount (Sumeru) and the Snowy Range are the abode of Devas, how can a theosophist be superior to them? Because though the golden and silver mountains abound in precious ore, they are incapable of converting trees growing there into gold and ·30 VICHAR MALA. silver, and inasmuch as a theosophist makes his .pupil equally 80, he is therefore superior to them; as Bashishta says: The gate of emancipation is guarded by four mentinels : Passivity, contentment, discrimination and associating With the wise; which fourth Know to be the most valued. As the entry of a king's palace is guarded by sentinels, so is the gate of emancipation firmly held by passivity, contentment with whatever one gets for his maintenance, and in whatever situation he may be placed; discrimination of things eternal and non-eternal, and keeping company of the wise; and this fourth is ascertained by all learned men as the best of them all. Because that companionship is superior to what the Shastras say. To produce emancipation, remove bondage Though many are the methods said. Yet in spite of these two millions of means, Associating with the wise is needed. The sacred writings lay down innumerable means for procuring emancipation and causing the destrikktion of bopacitet yet all learned persons have ascertained the necessity of associating with a theosophist, and consider it to be essential for that emancipation in spite of the above means. Why ? All works are based on a motive Of reward in this life or the next : As a means of acquiring knowledge Company of the wise is unrivalled. All works practised by individuals are actuated by a motive, either for enjoying reward in this or the next life; but as a means of acquiring knowledge of Self, keeping company of the wise is unrivalled.

·VICHAR MALA, 31 · Its superiority is thus proved- Sruti Smriti, and the utterances of Krishna Aedy“ In this world that companionship is the best.” An b, it removes anlagonism And shows clearly that Brahma is (existent]. The author says, in the Sruti, Smriti and Gita, we find evidence of its superiority as follows:-" In this world company of the wise is essential as by helping the cognition of Brahma, it removes all doubts and misapprehensions concerning It.” In this manner, the second pupil Has his disputes settled. Here ends consideration of The merits of one resting on Self.

·32 VICHAR MALA. BOOK III. THD author begins the present book by referring to what the pupil had already said :- Lord! Of a theosophist's qualitics, I am aware. He is absolutey unconnected, Without any determinatiov, A sea of illimitable bliss, Bhagavan, what you say about a theosophist being free from determination and desires, and area of illimitable blissfulness, all these indications I have come to know certainly. His purport is now being declared: I am full of motives, bis intellect is good, How can there be a relation between us? I know not to ask questions, How can then I be benefited by his instruction ? Lord, as I am bent after the pursuit of material emforts, and he a person of great intellect and good, free from Whem, consequently for this natural antagonism, there can be no connection created between us. If you say, he is kind in disposition and waits not to expect anything from me, yet as I am full of illusion, I know not how to frame questions, hofv can then it be possible for me to profit by his instructions by eliciting replies, ou Self-knowledge and be released ? Says the Guru- What a sage speaks ordinarily, or in verse, or from the Scriptures Helps to destroy pain, and produces felicity (to a pupil).

·VICHAR MALA, 33 Pupil. The ordinary conversation of a theosophist and his pupil helps to create knowledge : for instance, he asks, say who is the soujoyer? The pupil replies “ Reflected Intelligence Sir." Why? "For its being an agent or instrument.” Speaking in verse is thus illustrated That am I' cxistence, Intelligence and bliss. The senses are engaged in their several works, I am their controller and king. Sometimes he sets them to music and sings. Sometimes in the midst of his conversation he repeats texts from the Sacred Scriptures or alludes to the signification of " That art thou. Now all these methods help the destruction of pain or misery firmly seated in your heart, and bring in the perception of felicity as a result of the knoirledge, Self is Brahma. The words he pronounces gently, are pleasing, And illustrate the seven grounds [sorts] of knowledge. Pupil, a sage whose words are naturally gentle and pleasant to hear, illustrates the seven grounds of knowledge. Says the pupil- Bhagavaí, I am in much grief, And can hear nothing more: Let me listen to the seven grounds, That I may know them. Replies the Guru, Good desire, good discrimination, Restraining the mind, removing Objections against the one existence, Indifforence, and absence of materiality are six and Ecstacy the seventh: know Them to be the seven grounds. And if ару doubt lurks in you, Speak unto me that I may remove. V - ·VICHAR MALA. Papil. Bhagavan, my intellect is dull, I cannot understand what you say. Speak unto me of them separately, So that I may know the seveu grounds. Guru. Material prosperity leads to misery ; Regard with reverence your preceptor as a sacred shrine. That is called good desire : And keep your unind engaged in hearing the Puruns etc. To know material well-being, riches, family and the rest as a productive source of untold miseries, whose very contact is painful, to attribute defects to them and observe them in that light, engenders an inclination to abandon them; and to repair to the sacred presence of a professor, just as a pilgrim repairs to a holy shrive or sacred city, with reverence and affection; and to produce an inclination for hearing the Puranas or other sacred writings read out, [all these heip to make the mind faultless, and pave the way to knowledge. Therefore onc of its grounds or means is good desire.) That creates affection and love for God, And removes everything else from the mind. The heart elated with joy sings his praise, And day by day increases love for him. From the hearing of the Puranas, is engendered affection for God, and a person comes to know everything else is fruitless in procuring emancipation save knowledge of Him, so be removes them altogether from his mind. When the mind has thus been firmly and affectionately restored to God, and the individual feels within him His kindness and affection for his ·VICHAR MALA. 35 worshippers, and sinners, he is elated with joy, sings his praise, and fiðm day to day begets more affection for Him. For this reason it is called good desire. This is the 'first ground' of knowledge. The second discriminativu' is now being explained. The second is called discrimination, From which is produced ascertainment of eleinents, When that is doue; a person seated alone Knows self and the world. When the essential nature of soul has been thoroughly examined and ascertained, a person retires in a lonely place and enquires what are we elements ? Are they real ? No, they are unreal. Who am I? Am I the physicial body? If it were so, how could I leave my body, with death, and enter into an objective existence subsequently? Therefore, I am not tho physical body. Moreover the subtle body only is subject to transmigration; and if I were that subtle body, then as in profound slumber it merges into the cause body, but I continue to exist, ther fore inyself am not it. Then again the cause hody .continues in profound slumber and if I were it, I could never have experienced "I was ignorant of what happened, so soundly did I sleep." In this manner, ignorance the cause of the world and its contents-is plainly visible, hence I am not it. Thus then, I am entirely different from the three bodies physical, subtle and cause. Am I an agent or enjoyer ? or am I not? An agent is always one with form; but I perceive it not, hence Self is not an agent, (doer] neither an enjoyer. And that Self who is neither an agent nor enjoyer and pervading all bodies, is he one or many. The Vedas hold non-difference of Jiva and Brahma; if Self were manifold that non-distinction will not hold true, therefore Self is one, and all-pervading. And how am I onc with Brahma? To know it fully, a person takes shelter of his professor, And which ·36 VICHAR MALA. world is painful to me? That created by Iswara or that by Jiva ? Iswara's creation is thus mentioned “The supreme Lord desired to create many out of himself.” From his desire the material cause of the universe underwent a cạnange, its insentiency predominated, from which was produced ether with its property sound; from ether, air with its individual property touch, besides that of its cause, sound of ether; from air, fire; fire has form, its individual property, while sound and touch are derived from its cause air; from fire, water; it has its individual property taste, 'while sound, touch, and form are derived from its cause; water, carth ; which has its individual property smell, besides those of sound, touch, form, and taste derived from its cause. In this mariner, subsequent to the evolution of elements, from a blending of the good qualities ipherent in them has been derived the Internal organ. Now this Internal organ for a variety of its functions is divided into four :-mind, Intellect, thinking and conceit. From a mixture of the active qualities of the elements has been derived the vital airs respectively called Prana, Apana, Saman, Udana, and Vyana.* They are so called, according to the place they occupy.-Heart, anus, navel, throat, and througuout the body are the several sites according to seriality. Their functions are hunger and thirst, excretion of urine and fæces, digestion of food and its conversion into chyme and chyle, blood and semen; respiration and taste. Similarly from the good quality of each element has been derived the five organs of sense in the following manner :- from the good active particle of ether is derived the organ of hearing and * Prana is the ascending air with its seat at the tip of tho nose. Apana is the descending air seated in the anus. Samana is situated inside the body and helps digestion of food. Udana is the air situated in the throat. Vyand moves in all direction, in all parts of the body.

·VICHAR MALA. 37 specch; from a similar particle of air, skin and hands; froin that of fire, smell and anus.* Subsequent to the cvolution of the subtle elements, they were quintuplicated by Iswara's desire the devided the dark particle of cach element into two parts, of which one-half was kept separate, and sub-divided the other half into four equal parts, and by adding to it each first portion of the other elements kept separate, he inade them combine, so that in each there was a fractional coinbination of five. Froin this quintuplication of elements has been produced the gross Brahmâ's egg, which includes fourteen abodes inhabited by Devas, Daityas, inen etc., with adequate food and drink for their enjoyment. This Iswara's creation is not a cause of happiness or its reverse. They are simply a creation of the individual, for examnle, (as meutioned elsewhere). Two persons have a sop, cach residing in a distant province far from home, one of thein dies, the other surviving sent word to his father by a person iuforming of his success, and the death of that other son; but the person who brought the misinformed the father from sinister motive and told him that his was dead; while the person whose son was actually dead was told that his son woald soon be returning home laden with wealth attended by a large retiuue, mounted on an elephant. As a result of this the father of the living son is drowned in grief, wbile he, news some son * A difference is observable in what the commentator mentions; for beginning with the production of the sensory organs from the good quality, he adds the active along with it. According to the Velantasara we find only the good quality mentioned and not the active as :- "The organs of sense are the ear skin, eye, tongue and nose. They derive their origin from the good particle of the different elemonts etc., in consecutive order; that is to say, the Satwa of cther produces the ear, that of air, skin-heat, eye-water, tongite and earth pose. Dhole's Vedantasara p. 20.

·38 VICHAR MALA. whose son was dead, was elated with joy; but no such happiness or sorrow can be felt by a person for the success or 'death of another person's son in whom he has no interest] who is Iswara's creature, and may be resident abroad on service, and as from the relation created by the mind of the individual, such happiness or misery proceeds, it is therefore called Jiva's creation. But it may be alleged, if the creations of Jiva and Iswara were distinct they would necessarily be objectively present, but no Jiva's creation is seen in that way, hence it is untenable. Therefore, it is said, as the same woman, a crcature of Iswara is related to his husband as wife, to her father as daughter, sister to her brother and mother to her children, 80 that she has ten or more different relations with her husband, father and the rest, and they know her accordingly, and as it affects her, so are they pleased or pained, hence it is necessary to regard this relation as a creation of the individual and as such, a source of happiness or misery. This is called 'good discrimination.' To restrain the body and desire and mind, and to remember Brahma is the third ground. To restrain all thoughts concerning external and internal objects, and constantly to dwell on Brahma is called the third ground (Tanumanasa) 'emaciated mind.' The fourth is this; tangibility of Brahma, After cessation of doubts and inconsistent ideas : Thep Self is no more mistaken for the world But disappears like a wave in the bosom of the sea. After clearing all doubts, misapprehensions and inconsistent ideas concerning It, when the mind concentratiug its thoughts indellibly rests on Brahma, tangible perception of Self follows, and name and form attributed to bim through illusion disappear; his reality is ascertained, as well as the upreality of this vast material expanse, just as waves disappear in the bosom of the sea, when a tempest ceases and they are ascertained to be unreal.

·VICHAR MALA. 39 When conceit for the physical boily is gone And it is no more mistaken with Self, As non-different from him; it is Called the fifth grouud 'Indifference.' After doubts have been dispelled, when there is no more any misapprehension left about the non-difference of Self with the physical body, and the conceit ceases, or a similar conceit in regard to another's body is cured (as for instance, the mistake for Self with a son and wife) it is called (Asam sukti) Indifference. It is the fifth 'grourd' of kuowledge. What is called intellection of materiality, Aud when material substances are removed, Then follow their waut or removal ; And that is the seventh ground. In other words, when mistaken notions concerning Self with the physical body, sensory organs, active organs, mind, vitality, and intellect have all been destroyed, then follows a tangible perception of Self, as Intelligence only and all of them are said to disappear, just as a rich man using false jewelry is said to be decked With gold ornaments. In the seventh, there is neither 'being,' nor 'non-being' There is no ‘mine' or 'thine,' and no presence and want. It is called ecstacy (Turya). Here there is no perception of mine and thine as in the fourth and fifth varieties. That is to say, the meaning of a word is 'demonstrator' (Pramata). 'Thou' means the subject that is to be demonstrated or proved, and from a description of the two, what is established is called demonstration, proof or authority. Now these three are easily discovered in the fourth and fifth grounds, but not here. And as want or negation is established in the sixtb, so it is not present in ecstacy. If you ask, what is that, which is at once different from 'being' and 'non-being? the reply is :-It is unspeakable, because no words can express it as the Sruti ·40 VICHAR MALA. says:-"Whom no words can express” and “whom the mind cannot conceive." Thus does the worshipful preceptor Disclose the seven 'grounds of knowledge. Says Anath, who, with earnest attention Discrimivates them, knows Self. One who discriminates the seven grounds of knowledge, thoroughly avalyzes them, disclosed as they are by the professor, and concentrates his attention to the purpose, has no more any difficulty to ascertain the real pature of Self. So says Anathdasjee. This third book removes all repentance From one, and after having discovered The seven grounds of knowledge he Becomes a theosophist* himself. * I have used the word "theosophist" for the Sanskrit Sunt ;' and for Sat sang' companionship with him, and sometimes, serving a preceptor. This should create no surprise, inasmuch as such service can only propitiate a Guru, when he favors his pupil with the requisito instruction. Service is everywhero laid down as an important item in the preliminary stage, when enquiring after Self-knowledge; and as these preceptors have forsaken everything, no money or other inducement can tempt them to impart the hidden knowledge. They are pleased with servico, aud a pupil so pleasing his professor, abides his time when through his kindness succoeds in his desire.

·VICHAR MALA. 41 BOOK IV. THE means of knowledge are now being set forth by the professor, for the benefit of his pupil in reply to his queries. Says the pupil. Now I know them well--the seven grounds, But what are the means of knowing the Pure Brahma, and proofs ? Lord! I have now come to know the seven grounds of knowledge thoroughly, and have no more any doubts or nusa givings, but with kindness impart to me that instruction which will help the knowledge of the Pure, unassociated Brabnia, (without the associates of collective totality, or distributive segregate) and what are the means ? In other words, describe the demonstrator, who takes cognition of knowledge ? and how can the supreme Self be ascertained by the six varieties of proofs? The pupil now speaks more clearly the cause of his inquiry in the following verse. Bhagavan! As darkness is not destroyed anywhere, By speaking about a lamp and of its light; So without thc wsing of perfect knowledge, There can be no removal of Self in not-Self, Lord! As a person sitting in a dark room, cannot bave that darkness removed, simply by ordering a light to be brought, or even with a lamp filled with oil and supplied with a wick, but not lighted, so without the rising of perfect knowledge of Brahma, the mistakes and mis-appreheusions which are firmly seated in the mind of a person about Self for VI ·YICHAR MALA. not-Self can never be removed or destroyed, please therefore speak unto me the means of knowledge. Replies the Guru, Leave off inclination for the world first, Wife, children, home, keep your thoughts from them, Regard them as poison,--all material comforts : Avd avoid passions and desires. Pupil! The world which.is a means for the accomplishment of material gratification, must first be discarded and all inclination for it should be repressed, because attachment to earth and its goods is antagonistic to knowledge, as mentioned in the Panchadasi : .“ When Jiva who is the reflected shadow of intelligence begets an inclination for, or attachment to worldlife, and gratification of desires by the accumulation of wealth etc., he can never have cognition of the luminous or Self-illuminated uniform Intelligence (Brahma]." Therefore leave off all attachment for wife, children, house, wealth and the rest, as mentioned in the Gita about want of attachment in the individual qualified for knowledge. { " In him there is no attachment for son, wife, home, nor bas be any airection for them.” Moreover, material prosperity infatuates a person like one who has taken a narcotic poison, because it is opposed to knowledge. To this effect Ashtabakra says "A person desirous of release abandous all inclination for material well-being and shews no attachment to them." Then again, abandon passions and desires; for Bhagavan Sreekrishna says, “ the sensory organs have their desires etc., seated in their several subjects of perception, sound and the rest, and a person desirous of release is never subject to them, because they are opposed to his path of koowledge." To help it, defects are now being attributed to material objects mistaken for objects procuring happiness.

·VICHAR MALA. Who loves his wife tenderly, knowing her to be dear, Is a person of dull intellect, very cunning. In vain has he assumed the Human shape, [for no emancipation can he get]. A .person knowing his wife to be very dear loves her passionately, it is a sign of his stupidity, and cuuning. In vain bas he taken th? shape of man, because he never succeeds in emancipating himself, which is the final aim of humanity. Bone, flesh and blood, and skin, She is made of-a mass of uncleanliness From the tip of nail to hairs of head. Avoid her like fire, and keep at a distance. Pupil. A woman's body is made of bones, flesh, blood and skin, all these are unclean substances, from nail tips to the hairs of the head, she is full of dirt, and in caste* she is low as inentioned by Sreekrishna. She is likewise externally in her body both unclean and impure. The same holds true with regard to her nature and disposition. Puets say, “women are true in thcir naturd, but they have eight bad qualities always present in them; (1) they have little courage, (2) very fickle, (3) subject to illusion, (4) timid, (5) iudiscriininate, (6) impure and unkind." "They have the dart of tou millions of thunderbolts, (in the glance of their eyes]; there is nothing harder than their heart, so hint all sages and derout persons." Therefore they are to be avoided like fire knowing them to burn a person like it (and kept at a distance). As suakes and scorpions by their venom cause death and pain to a person whom they bite, so does a woman by her touch, cause mischief to meditation aud devotion. This is now being explaincd. . 'Caste' is here made to siguify the genus, or species and not the usual distinction prevalent in Ilindu society, for it would be meaningless to say the wife of Brahman is low in caste. In feriority of females is tho point sought to be established.

·VICHAR MALA. Like snake poison affecting by contact, The poison of woman affects by thinking of her,' And destroys knowledge, meditation, life With their root, all disappear. Snake poison can only kill a person when coming 'in contact with the body through affecting the blood ; thinking of women inflames lascivious desires, which end in gratification; their very contact is injurious, because they destroy knowledge of the sacred scriptures; "When a learned man is entranced headlong in the love of woman he forgets the sacred writings, their utterances and reasonings,” or it removes that concentration of mind which was modified into, or had assumed the sha pe of the object of meditation, together with the discrimination which had brought it forth. Sexual intercourse tells against vitality, bence women are said to be injurious or detrimental to health and life. To think of a woman is anotber form of sexual intercourse etc. But it may be asked, where is the proof of such an assertion? Therefore it is said, There are eight varieties of intercourse Said in Sruti, from that I say, And what is opposed to them, Call it to be continence, Taking Sruti for my authority I have mentioned eigkit varieties of sexual intercourse, and what is opposed to them viz :-abandoning the thought and recollection etc., of women, is called chastity or continence-the usual profession of a professor of Brahmaic knowledge. They are: To hear her speak, To hear the beauty of women talked about, ·VICHAR MALA. To remember its experience, With pleasure to discuss on it, To retire aloof with her and converse, To determine on the method of gaining access, To cndcavour to gratify wishes; And to cujoy her. To hear her speak and think on her sweet voice; to hear with avidity any mention of a beautiful woman; dwell on her charms; remember any personal experience of it; recanting with pleasure on the subject, accosting her, and talking about gaining access, and endeavouring to obtain her; and finally having one's desires gratificd by enjoyment. Son forms the next object of consideration. A son talks sweet, very pleasant to hear, It enchants the mind; a sage hearing this Laughs and says, a stupid Person is subjugated by it. Sweet prattling of children always enchants men's minds and that is why it is called 'charm'; and when a person hears it fepeatedly or is pleased to listen to it over and again is a stupid one, therefore one is to consider children are an incessant source of misery, and who expects any happiness from them is a prince of dunce. Because, One loses disctimination of proper and improper When infatuated, and is subjected to bondage : Looks not after a professor, Nor wants to ascertain what is fit for bim to do. Blinded in a sea of Ignorance, clouding his intellect. It is incumbent upon humanity to forsake all attachment for a son [and children too], to be in quest of a Guru whereby ·46 VICHAR MALA. to cause emancipation by the ascertainment of what is proper to be done; and if one is preveuted from acting in this 'mauner, and immersed headlong in the sea of an carthly career his metempaychosis is inevitable, and therefore he is a prince of dunce. “Who is content with sleeping, cating, and enjoying, is no better than a brute.” Self-knowledge is supreme knowledge, without it, a man is a beast." Thus having considered the faults and defects present in children detected by a person of discrimination, the same method of analysis is carried with regard to home. < . House resembles a dark well, Who knows it not to be deceitful, Is enthralled in affection like a beast For a sou and wife, and subjected to re-birth : But all these are like a mirage, False, as they are deceiving. A blind well is a well without water situated in a desert. House resembles it, therefore to shew any attachment to it, or to endeavour to make it commodious, and comfortable to its innates,—wife, children etc., are so many bodds subjecting its owner to transmigration; for, all of them are deceitfud and unreal, because impermanent like mirage water; and who knows it not, but centres his belief in the affection of his wife and children, and loves them accordingly, as also his homo, misunderstands them and is deceived. Likewise all substances are faulty. Who regards wealth to be a source of bliss, Is deceived: and all objects are far Removed from happiness. Like children, wife and home, wealth is a source of afflic. tion and who regards it otherwise is deceived. Because wealth makes a person forget the invaluable wealth,-knowledge of Brahma And that knowledge helps the acquisition of ·VICHAR MALA. 47 supreme felicity by attaining the condition of Brahina whose sole essence is joy. How wealth is productive of pain ? Man uses many endeavours, And struggles hard for it, All that is painful indeed; Its accumulation is paiuful too, And its loss extremely so, Resembling the exit of life. Whatever avocations are followed by men for the acquirement of wealth, agriculture, trade or the learned professions, are attended with hardship, incessant struggles, and therefore painful to speak of. (oreover, if from the influence of virtue he be so fortunate as to amass a fortune, its prescrvation from fire and robbers is no less painful, and if spatched away by his king or despoiled by a robber, or he loses it from fire, or in the ordinary course of business, he feels as much misery as a man about to die,-or perhaps more. Thus then, wealth is a source of incessant pain as mentioned in the Panchajusi. “Accumulation of wealth is attended with pain ; its preservation, and loss, and its spending are cqually painful; and therefore such wealth which is productive of pain in all its stages is hardly worth struggling after." Now for an illustratiou of what has been mentioned in the last but one verse. Therefore leave their company And bring peace in your mind. And think yourself happy, In avoiding their sting like a snake. It is desirable, for the pair they bring fortb, that you should keep yourself off from the company of wife, children, house and wealth, for that will be beneficial to your best interests (aquirement of Self-knowledge), and ascertaiu what is good ·48 VICHAR MALA. for you and productive of happiness; and that happiness cau only follow from the gratification of the desired úbject (Brahma), as also from the destruction of objects that are hurtful to you, as a boy enchanted with a poisoned snake felt himself happy, when he got away from it through the force of virtuous deeds [done in a prior state of existence). Who is immersed in the grief of an earthly life, And regards the world in its true light-faulty. Verily, verily, I repeat unto you the truth The perception of happiness there is but like a dream. Here we have a reason why the world is to be abandoned, and all connection broken with it; because there is only misery in them, and the perception of fell ity in wife, children and the rest is as unreal as objects scen in a dream. To confirm it in the mind of his hearer, the professor now compares the world to a sea. The world is a sea, attachment for it is the water, Passions and desires are the aquatic animals; Whirlpools are incessantly turuing round Made up of happiness and misery in infinita succession; Heart is the steamship; thirst, wind strong, And one whose ship is tossing about In that sea, what help can he Get by holding to the wind ? A person whose heart is floating in the sea of this world can derive no benefit from meditating on the qualities of knowledge; he pays no heed to it, nor does he struggle to find out what his Self is, but is ever tossed about by the strong winds of passion and desire and subjected to repeated re-birth, just as in a tempest, a ship can derive no help from the wind; it guides her not to port, nor allows her escaping either a partial or total wreck.

·VICILAR NALA, 49 Llow that attachment is begotten is now being declared :- As froin wickedness of heart, a good man Is taken for bad, and from a defect Of sight a person discovers- From double vision-two moons in the sky, It is similar to a wicked man taking a good man for bad, and like the sight of two moons in the heavens from double vision--a particular disease of the eye. Therefore abandon conceit for the body, Though its chain is not subject to birth i. e., etornal ; Through knowledgc, destroy phenomena. And there is no mistako about it. Thus then, as attachment to the world is due to illusion caused by a defect (absence of discrimination), you are to abandon conccit for the body, and not to connect it with Self, as “I am thin. I am corpulent." Though for the presence of that conceit cver since a person has learnt to speak, ito can be said to be without a beginning and therefore eternal, yet knowledge of Self destroys it certainly, hence you are to acquire it; and when once it has ceased, there can be no subsequent attachment for the world, even by mistake. Flappiness of Brahma and Indra ctc., Resemble caninc ordure; abstain from it. In carth there is happiness only in name, Show no regard for it even by mistake. Happiness of Brahmâ, Indra and the other Devas should never be desired, for at best it is non-eternal and impermanent, and you are to avoid it as a person does a dog's cxcrement in his path. Moreover no happiness is present in the earth, it is only a name, just as one born blind was named “ Lotus eyed” to no purpose. Therefore, pupil, you are to show no regard and pay no heed to the world even hy mistake. VII ·50 VICHAR MALA. But objection may be taken to what has been mentioned, about there being no happiness in material objects forming the subject of the several senses, and it requires explanation. Analogy and proofs alike tend to establish the fact of no such happiness being present in them, and if asked where are the proofs ? The reply is :-If any felicity were actually present in material objects, a person satiated with enjoying oue variety of them, ought to have retained his felicity in the midst of desire for another object; but it happens otherwise. Then again, when a person meets accidentally with a long absent son, or wife, or an equally beloved relation, the first interview brings him great delight, and that ought to continue ever afterwards so long as he or she resides with him, but so it never happens. Moreover in profourt meditation, a person experiences felicity, bis mind is then directed inwards and removed from all external objects, this should not be. These then are the grounds for holding the view of want of happiness in all objects. As for proofs, the Vedas say "Receiving the natural felicity of Solf, all objects appear to produce bappiness, as if it were present in them." Why is happiness experienced in connection with them ? Consciousness associated with an object is discovered in the form of happiness, and experienced so by a person. But then to contend, there can be no discovery of a thing which exists not, and like intelligence, there is a constant flow of happiness in a manner which cannot be definitely described, is improper; neither can it be maintained, that an object situated in a differcnt province or sphere, is discovered differently, or like another object in another manner, as the supporters of Anyatha khyati assert, hence to say consciousness associated with a subject is discovered in the form of felicity, and so experienced in it is The roader is referred to Sreeram's Vichar Sagar for a full exposition of tho several views "Indescribable," "Discriminating," and "Differentiated." They are too long to admit of condensation and important too.

·VICHAR MALA, 51. untenable, is improper; because though the Sidhanta does not admitchc view of difference expounded by the supportors of Anyatha Khyati; yet when site and superimposed object form the subject of one and same modification, there is difference admissible As, a red flower kept near a crystal, [crystal is the .site wherein is projected the red color of the flower) imparts its redness to the glass, so that both the flower and crystal are subjects of one and samo modification-redness; and that redness is discovered because for a different substance being created out of that contact, i. c., the crystal undergoing a different modification according to Anyatha khyati ; similarly in the instance under illustration, the same view is admitted in Sidhanta. Morcover, when there is an enmity for this view of difference, the subject of happiness in association with material objects is said to be produced from an " Indescribable relation." ' In intelligence, there is a natural relation of happiness associated with objects, which springs in an indescribable manner in wealth, family ctc.,] for which it is called the "Indescribable method." There are others, who maintain from the function of intellect modified into the shape of a subject, (wealth and other material objects)-intelligence associated with it -is experienced iu the form of felicity. If it were so, a person seeing a tree on the road side, (here his mental function assumes the modification of thut tree to help its cognition), and that knowledge associated with intelligence, ought to bring him a perception of felicity. But this does pot hold good. For, when the mind (its function) assumes the shape of a desired object, intelligence associated with it is cognized in the form of happiness, and not of another thing. If it be asked, since there is no happiness in material objects, why do we find an inclination for, or attachment to them present in all. Because want of discrimination is tho source of illusion which makes a mau believe in that way. Such attachment is a source of misery as will appear in the soquel (thrco following verses).

·52 VICIAR MILA. Likc swallows running after mist, Thinking it to be rain, And from want of discrimination Getting their eyes injured. As a swallow mistaking mist which it saw from a distance, for rain, runs after it without discrimination, ultimately to have its eyes injured without getting a drop of water. As one fools pleasure by co-habitiug With another's wife in a dream, And loses virtuc, and virility, And becomes unclean too. As a person of no very strict morality by cnjoying another person's wife, or an imaginary woman in a drcam, experiences pleasure, but derives no issue, loses his virtuc in the bargain, wastes bis virility and becomes unclean. As & bird falls into a nes at the sight of bait, So are dull persons believing to derive happiness, subjugated by the world. As a bird is ensnared by the sight of a bait, and tempted by it, which however it never gets, but on the contrary is made a prisoner, so are dull persons expecting to derive felicity ensuared by it, and they are imprisoned by or made slaves of the world, only to experience go A dog co-habiting a bitch gets entangled for half an hour; All living beings, in the same way are shameless too. That is to say, a dog co-habiting a bitch gets entangled, and for half an hour continues in that painful position constantly struggliug all the time to ease himself: so are mcn cqually shameless, for they do not consider that a dog has one ·VICHAR MALA. Foi intercoursc every six months, and for that onc act is made to suffet so much pain, whereas with men tho rule is, to have it always, and thereforc the ultimate resulting pain is sure to follow in them too. If it be asked, where is the proof to abandon them? Evidence of the Sruti and Smriti nccds not be mentioned, for there are many texts to the purpose; that 'indifference' which constitutes the difference between wisc and ignorant persons and which makes their conduct differ is now pointed out. ; The wise abandon all enjoyments Knowing them to be impure: And passionate men, feed upon them As a crow dcus on refusc. Says Avathdasji :-Wise men know all enjoyments are material-a product of Ignorance-hence unrcal, they have no inclination for them, on the other hand they discard them altogether; but ignorant persons deluded into a belief of their producing happiness, take them up, (follow the bent of their inclinations and fondly pursue them), and like a crow grcedily® swallowing the refuse that is thrown from house-tops, they, the ignorant, make what is refused by a sage their subject of enjoyment. And as crow is the lowest of birds—for its dirty babits--so are ignorant, bad men. Why? because whatever indifference is produced in the ignorant is due to the observation of faults in objects of enjoyment, which are apt to be removed subsequently, just as men feel an aversion for women after having had a sexual intercourse with them, again to be removed when inflamed with desire after a little lapse of time ; hence this indifference of the ignorant is not sharp but dull; whereas in the wise, that indifference is a result of the firm conviction of their impcrmanence, in addition to their defective nature. Henco what they abandon once arc uc.ver resumed by them, just as food that is vomited is ·VICILAR MALA. nover rc-eaten by any one; for which, their indifference is said to be sharp and acute, RESULT OF INDIFFERENCE. So long as the glitter and show of the werld continues, A person knows not what is good for bim; But when its unreality is ascertained, He abandons it, as a snake docs a ripc slough (kanchri). Till the glitter and pomp,, the show and dazzle of the objective world cease to exist as a reality, a person is bent after the acquisition of material comforts, his attachment for wealth, wife, family, friends ctc., continues, and he is thus debarred from ascertaining what is good and beneficial for him ; but with the springing of discrimination he begets indifference ; then the blissful abode of heaven even, appears worthless ; for it is liable to destruction at a distant date, and he discards them altogether, just as & snake leaves off its ripe cast of skin. In the individual qualified for knowledge, there is not present indifference only, but the other means of knowledge too. Devoid of sin, with mental restraint, gift and good works, He has quieted his passion and desire and abandoned all inclination for wealth. Thus is he desirous of release and very fortunate. A person engaged in good works for the sake of Iswara, from whom sin has been removod, in other words, who is pureminded and tranquil from devotional exercise, and has restrained the internal organ so as to destroy its fickleness, who is utterly indifferent to material happiness which he has abandoned, is said to be very fortunate; because with his destruction of ignorance and its product the material world, he begets ·VICHAR M.FLA. 55 desire for release and acquisition of supremo felicity of Brahma, Therefore a qualified person is one whose heart is pure, mind restrained, and who is endowed with the four means of knowedge :-Discrimination, Indifference, Passivity etc., and Desire of relcase Such a qualified person has recourse To hearing te Vedanta- work full of knowlodge, Till he reaps the result, Non-duality. And ascertains it well. . That qualificd individual has recourse to 'hearing' for ascertaining the drift of the Upanishads concerning Brahma, with the help of the six means of knowledge. They are :- 1. The commencement and the conclusion (Upakramopsanghara). 2. Repetition (Abhyasa). 3. Novelty (Apurvata). 4. Result (Phala). 6. Illustratioır by praise (Arthavada) and 6. IMustration by supporting urguments (Upapati). These are the means for determining the purport. 1. The commencement and conclusion' is tho method of explaining the subject which a work treats of, by referring to it in the beginning and concluding part of the chapter. As iu the sixth chapter of the Chhandogya Upanishad where the subject is mentioned in the opening and termination in tho following manner, "There is but one Brahma without a second"; and "This spirit is universal." 2. ‘Repetition is the repeated mention of the subject several times in the same chapter by way of explanation. As in the same sixth chapter "That art thou" has been repeated vinc times for explaining the secondloss Reality Brahina.

·50 VICHAR MALA. 3. Novelty'is to determine the inutility of other proofs except those cited in regard to the subject treated in a chapter. As in the said sixth chapter, the Upanishads are shown to be tho only proof for determining Brahma, all others are useless. - 4. 'Result' is the necessity for acquiring knowledge of self to be treated in a chapter, or to put it into practice. As for example, in the same chapter is incntioned, “He who has a preceptor, kuows the Brahma, till the liberation of the spirit from his body his absorption into Brahma is delayed ; with his death it is accomplished.” 5. Illustration by praise is as follows: ["The one knowledge helps the uuheard, board ; thc unthought, thought; and unknown, known."] 6. Illustration by supporting arguments, is in this manner. [As in the same sixth chapter, "O gentle one ! as from knowlodge of one lump of clay all carthen objects are at once recognised, their different shape and name constitute a nominal distinction, so is the recognition of Brahma in phenomena, for whatever exists is nothing but Brahma.") Thus to ascertain the drift of the Vatlanta and havo a firm conception of the purport, the reality of Brahma, established in that work, which is full of knowledge, by the aforesaid six means, till the result is achieved: and that result is to know the way mentioned or pointed out in the Vedanta (for emancipation) and not to seck the attainment of the blissful abode of heaven, of one's ancestors etc. Here the question naturally présents itself, if the six means only help to ascertain ihc purport of the Vedanta how is non-duality ascertainable ? That is brought about by the professor's instruction on the transcendental phrases :- "That art thou* "I am Brahma" etc., when heard from the mouth of Guru. And instruction establishes non-duality in the manner laid down below.

·VICHAR MALA. 56 “That art Thou. Here the first word That' refers to intelligence associated with Maya (Illusion), the universal cause endowed with omniscience, invisibility, truth, Intelligence and bliss,*- Iswafat is the literal signification of "That; Thou' refers to Jiva, endowed with the internal organ, subject of egoisin, and manifeſted or discovered by its function. The verb 'art' establishes their oneness. But to say so is clearly untenable: because Iswara's Intelligence is omniscient, and invisible; while Jiva endowed with the internal organ is parviscient and visible, hence to say 'That art thou' is clearly unsound: for,they are naturally opposed to each other; therefore abandoning the unessential portion, the remaining Intelligence being one in both of them, is meant by the phrase, and this is done according to the canons of Indication known by the ugme on Abandoning the indication of a part of the meaning.' What is Indication ? When the purport of a speaker cannot be made out by the literal meaning of a word, it is construed from the import of what is called indication; therefore it is not root of absence of perception as some will have it, but quite its reverse, when between the purport and words expressed there is a want of relation. As "A village on the Gangts." Here it is impossible to have a village situated in the Ganges, which is a river, we therefore, fail to arrive at the purport of the speaker from the help of the literal meaning of the * To put it algebraically Intelligence + Invisibility Intelligence + Visibility. If we omit from both sides of the equation invisibility and visibility which constitute the difference, we have Intelligence=Intelligence. † I doubt very much whether Iswar is ever pure intelligence and bliss. He is Mayaic and represents an anthropomorphic creator. "That' refers to Brahma, to Intelligence marked by invisibility in a state of passive rest, the universal consciousness embracing the collective totality of ignorance, and Ignorauce-associated consciousness Iswara, Hirangarbha and Virat. VII ·57 MICIAR MALA. words“ village and Ganges,' and for that want of relation the necessity of Indication is to be admitted (as it helps to clear the meaning; for in that way, the word Ganges would sigoify its banks where there can easily be a village and that is the speaker's purport.] According to Naiyayikas "A stick enters" is a misuse or misapplication of words. They call it Vyavichara, literally signifying prostitution. Because a person while about to take his dinner, asks another to introduce “The person carrying a stick ; "and though simple stick may as well be implied, yet considering the time, the speaker can have no purport in asking for a stick while about to take his meal, that may wait conveniently till he has finished it and about to stir out; therefore an indication depends for its wurce upon the want of a speaker's purport, for which, absence of that perception of his purport is its root, and for ascertaining it, the meaning which a word has strength to express is its co-adjutor : inasmuch as, the relation of force (Sakya Sambandha) resembles indication, and without the practical meaning (literal signification which words have strength to express) being known, the indicated signification which resembles that relation of force cannot be formed; for this reason, the indication of the practicat' meaning is thus being set forth. That force which helps the comprehension of a particular word to express a particular meaning is called its practical meaning' (Sakya). Indication is defined as the relation which exists between it and the 'practical meaning ;' this is an extraordinary form of indication. But there are several varieties of it, called respectively, Indicative, Inclusive, and Abandoning a part of the meaning. When the literal meaning of a word is abandoned and another meaning substituted which is related to that literal meaning, it is called 'Indicative Indication. As "A village in the Ganges." Here the meaning of the word Ganges literally is a current- of water-a river-and as no person can live in it, it is therefore ·VICILAR MALA. 53 abandoned and banks are substituted, which are related to the water: therefore banks are the indicated indication of the word 'Ganges.' 'Inclusive Indication' is illustrated by the example "Saye the curd from crows." Here simply to prevent crows from spoiling the curd would not amount to its protection, and the speaker had intended to convey the curd being protected from crow, cat and all other possible but preventible causes. Therefore crow includes a rat, a dog etc. And it would therefore appear that the word 'crow' literally signifying a bird of that name having its relation with curd is one of the spoilers, these are all included in its indication. 'Indication of abandoning a part of the meaning' is the relation of a word in a part of its literal meaning after the other has been aband ned. As "That Devadatta is this. That refers to a Devadatta seen in the past time, and 'this' to the present, therefore abandoning the conflicting portion of the meaning indicated by 'that' and 'this' respectively signifyivg past and present time, marked by invisibility and visibility Devadatta only is meant.* Of these three Indications, the first and the second do not apply in construing the sense of a transcendental phrase, kut the third is applicable in this wise :- If we omit the conflicting portion of the meaning of the words 'That' and "Thou' inasmuch as they are marked by antagonistic properties, for the one is invisible, omniscient, omnipotent, and all-pervading, while the other is parviscient, visible, parvipotent and finite, che remaining intelligence being equal in both, that is meant. Thus then, by this Indication is established the oneness of Intelligence both of Iswara and Jiva. Similarly “I am Brahma" * Devadatta + past time=Devadatta+present time. Omitting the confliction of time past and present, as they introduce an antagonism in the moaning inasmuch as past time is invisibie and the present visiblo, we have Devadatta.

·59 VICHAR MALA. "Myself am Brahma" "Blissfulness of knowledge is Brahma' are to be construed by the indication of abandoning a part of the meaning. NATURE OF CONSIDERATION. When a person parts company with distraction of mind, He sits alone and aloof and betakes to consideration.' After non-duality has been thoroughly ascertained and firmly established in the mind, a person has no more any need of doing that which comes under the category of proper (kartabya): yet if any would have doubts lurking about the interpretation of a transcendental phrase by the help of iudication in the manner just pointed, his company is to be avoided from a distance, for his mind is distracted ; andøretiring in a solitary spot, aloof from all, one should betake to considering the oneness of Jiva and Brahma, by calling to his aid with earnest attention all the conformable arguments and abandoning those that conflict, in the following manner: Indications of self according to Sruti are eternal intelli. gence and bliss; so is Brahma too. Therefore Self is no other than Brahma. Or Brahma signifies pervasion-what cannot be limited by place, hence infinite ; and if Self were disticct from It, he will be finite and what is finite, is non-eternal too; therefore Self would be so; but as he is not, therefore etrnal and one with Brahma. Or if Brahma were different from Self, It would be not-Self (for Self and not-Self is the primary classification including every thing which humanity can conceirs of ;-aid (phenomena and noumena) like a jar would therefore be insentient. Or (analytically) Jiva and Brahma are non-different: wherever there is intelligence, that is Brahina. "If any one were to contend :-Jiva is the argument, Intelligence, reason, but his non-difference with Brahma is not the possible conclusion, or inference in what has just been mentioned.* * A syllogism has three parts : the argument, reason and in- ·TICHAR MALA. 60 Now this is productive of injury only, and leads to no good. For to admit intelligence as 'reason’in the subject to be proved, Jiva, and yet to exclude his oneness or identity, on the lame cxcuse of an absence of premise leads a person to contend against the testimony of Sruti, where it says "Brahma is one and scondless. (Because in Jiva there is intelligence, and if he were to form a separate something, Brahma would be the second, or Brahma first and the Tiva scond; hence both the intelligences must be regarded as identical, and Brahma is without a second). Then again, want of faith in that testimony shows a person to be an atheist, and a qualified person is never found to rebel against it. Hence such a dispute is productive of harm as has been said already, for which, no one says there is an absence of the inference of non-duality in the text quoted. To consider in this way is called Manana. That helps to dispel preventible doubts by reference to the utterences of the sacred writings. Doubts are of two varieties :-(a) relating to testimony or proof, and (b) relating to the subject to be proved or demonstrated. Mention has already been made of the first variety (in the manner just laid down). The second admits of a divisiou into two varieties according to their relation to Self or not-Self. Not-self includes in it an endless variety of doubts "and they are not fit for mentioning. Doubts regarding Self may assume several forms and include an endless number of varieties too, as :- Whether or not, Self is distinct from Brahma ? And, if they are not twain, whether the non-distinction lasts always, or during emancipation? If they are always one, whether or not intelligence and bliss are always present? Whether these are mere qualities, or the very nature of Brahma and Self? Then again, in regard to the transcendental phrase, "That art thou," Whether the signification of That is distinct from that of forence or premise. Hence in the subject under consideration, the absence of the probable conclusion is pointed out by an oppositionist.

·.61 VICHAR MALA. Thou ?'. If they are one, why are they not equally visible ? Whether or not, Self is distinct from the physical body axd the rest? If distinct, whether he is atomic in size, medium sized or manifold? And if so, whether an agent or not. If the latter, whether he is one or mapy? In this way, the signification of Thou' includes a wide range of doubts. Similarly the signification of 'That' is apt to be misapprehended and to create doubts : as for example, Iswara residing in Vaikunta may either be taken for å finite being with hands, feet and other features (personal), or the infinite, impersonal, all-pervading ? Whether the atoms are dependent on him or independent in ushering the objective world into existence ? And if they are independent, whether they are the material or instrumental cause or both ? If it be alleged, they are the non-distinct materio-instrumental cause, then as Karma is the independent cause, waiting for no onc, to subject living creatures to reap what they had in a previous life, there will necessarily be created an antagonism between these several and works. Thus then, to clear this to fall back upon the other contingency, admit works to be the dependent cause. Such is a category of some of the doubts which may be attributed to the visible perception of the significatita ot*** *That.' And they are called doubts regarding the subject [non-duality) to be proved, which are removed by consideration, sown causes we are To sum up then :- Who daily has recourse to discrimination, Makes his mind fixed ; and his knowledge Rising, weakens doubts, removes them And confirms what is real, and what unreal. By constant thinking and weighing the arguments used for establishing Bruhnaic-knowledge, a person's perception is ·VICHAR MALDI. 62 cleared of all doubts, his understanding thus becoming pure and faultless easily takes hold of the doctrine of non-duality, and there it rests; because knowing self is ever non-distinct from Brahma, and the difference (apparent) is due to their associates, he is on the road to emancipation, and he lends his energies for his disenthralment or release. Now for the subject of opposite knowledge, reality of phenomena, Self an instrument and agent-a doer and enjoyerand distinct from Brabma; and the means necessary to have recourse to [for removing it). In that pure Self, if agency be admitted, one should be ripe in the means 'hearing', and 'consideration' finally to concentrate his attention wherewith to remove it. One who has been engaged in the practice of hearing' and 'consideration,' and become ripe in them can have no more doubts in the testimony adduced to support the subject (uon-duality] to be proved ; yet from a force of prior habits and practice, if he regards Self as a docr and enjoyer, and such other antagonistic views, he must abstain his mind from not-Self and concentrate it on Self, so as to be modified into his shape-there to rest. What is its result? That tranquillizes desires and passions, Just as the advent of night minimises going and coming In short, as the approach of night prevents persons from going here and there, receiving visits or returning them, or following their avocations with the same freedom as of the day, so does profound contemplation by concentrating the mind indivisibly on the oneness of Brahma and Self (Nididhya 802a) stem away the torrent of passion and desires and restore tranqnility of mind.

·63 VICHAR MALA. And when gnosis has arisen, and phenomena are reduced to their natural condition of non-being, i theosophist has no more need of practising any worke; in short he has nothiug proper left for him to do. When knowledge of non-duality Has arisen in a theosophist; He has neither good, nor bad action, Neither bappiness nor misery, to sec. With the practice of 'hearing' the utterances of the Upanishads, 'considering their drift, and profound contemplation' of that non-duality which is the gubject demonstrated in them, when goosis bas arisen, a theosophist is no more subject to lawful or prohibited works-ſhe is perfectly free to act without fearing any consequences, good and bad, happiness and misery). As it is said "a theosophist is not affected by good and bad." "He feels neither happiness nor misery in bimself." But then it may be contended a theosophist is apo to exclaim "I am happy," "I am miserablc;" hence the meaning of “I am" is now being declared from three separat, standpoints. It has one primary and two secondary meanings. Primary' is that which a word has force in it to convey. Secondary' is the indicated signification. Therefore the primary signification of "I am” refers to the reflection of intelligence with the uniform ; and its secondary significations are reflections of intelligence with the internal organ, uniform intelligence with the internal organ. They are two different. The primary ineaning is set forth after the manner of ignorant persons, while the secondary, from what wise persons say from popular practice, universal experience, and authority of the Shastras: for example “I am going," "I am sitting," "I am happy" “I am miserable." In these popular phrases used everywhere by all men alike, the wise connect 'I' with the reflex intelligcuco ·VICHAR MALA. in the internal organ, “I am unassociated" "I am Intelligence and Self" etc., used in the Shastras. Here 'I' refer to the uniform Intelligence, Self. Though reflection of Intelligence is placed over the internal organ, and therefore cannot be the receptacle of happiness and misery, inasmuch as what is substituted or placed over, cannot be the site or receptacle of another substance, (this is the rule):-as the snake substituted or placed over (superimposed or proiected] in a rope, cannot be the vebicle of moving about; yet ignorance is superimposed in pure Intelligence, (internal organ projected in associater ignorance) Jiva associated with the internal organ projects happiness and misery in the Witness Intelligence [ Self). In this way, Self is the site on whom is superimposed the attributes of doer and enjoyer etc., and the associate of that site of superimposition (illusory attribution) is the internal organ in which reflection is only A property of that organ. Whether virtue and the rest are the property of the internal organ or that of its predicate, Witness ; or like the snake in a rope it is no property of either; at any rate, they do not belong to Self. Therefore a theosophist never perceives happiness or®misery in Self. Result of studying this portion of the work is thus declared. Like a doll made of clay Thrown into sea to measure its depth ; When a person reads the book, Self merges into Self, and is absorbed. That is to say, like a person using a doll made of clay to measure the depth of the sca-in short, using it as a plumb-line, it gets dissolved and never issues out again of it; 80 by reading the present work, one gets knowledge of Brahma, and merges into It, vever again to issue out as a Jiva distinct from Brahma. - [His duality ceases and he is absorbed into Brahma to be couditionally one with It ] As the Gitu say's :-"By attaining IX

·05
VICHAR MALA.
which (Brahma)one never ceases again to be Bralıma.” Though
in the text, this illustration is wanting, yet it is used here for
confirming the truth of what has been said.
This is ecstacy (Turya)
Brought about by knowledge.
Who reads this with ease
Attains Brahma, (and) becomes one with Intelligence.

·VICHAR MALA. 66 BOOK V. Says the Pupil. Knowledge well I have acquired, Bhagavan ! through thy kindness. Of what nature are Self and World ? My mind wants to know. Bhagavan, whether in Self, phenomena are real or otherwisc; if real, knowledge of Brahma would fail to effect its destruction, and if unreal it would not be seen and felt by the senses ; so please let me hear what you have to say. [The professor admits the latter view to show ultimately its unreality by what is called withdrawal or rescission (apavada). Guru. My son never confound the world With Self, and take it to be real : For that mistake of its being Iswar, •Is only a function of miud. Pupil. You are never, in mistake even, to regard the world as real and same as Self, for naturally it is non-existent, hence unreal; and what is so, can never be taken for a reality; and when phenomena are non-existent, where can Iswar be, inasmuch as he is said to be the creator ? that is to say, in the absence of the product of creation, how can there possibly be a creator? Therefore both Iswara and Jiva are imaginary as the Panchadasi says: · Maya with the reflected shadow of intelligence creates both Iswar and Jiva." So says the Sruti, and that establishes the derivation of this vast material expanse from Maya with reflection of intelligence, hence for this unreality it is imaginary, "for no product of imagination ·67 VICHAR MALA. can furm'the substrate, vehicle, or receptacle of any substance." Hence Iswar and phenomena are non-existent, and to believe otherwisc is only a mental action. 1 Passions and desires are inental attributes ; Yourself is not the mind; He is (without contention) pervading and pure, Like felicity ; and "That art Thou.' As the belief of the reality of phenomena is a mental attribute, so are passions, and desires; and that mind is different from your Self; for he is free from determination and doubts (argumentative disputes), pervading and naturally blissful ; and "That art Thou." The professor now returns to the pupil's query-If the world is unreal it should remain unnainfested. The world in you; you, in it; remove. Leave all conceit of I' and minc, And (with blissfulness of Self], Finish your sojourn. $ Believe the attribution of the world to Self is a fancia contrivance : and as there can be no illusion without a real something remaining in the back ground to serve as a seat {on which it is to be projected, superimposed or added] so phenomena cannot claim to be such site, you are that seat and receptacle ; and with this knowledge glo away with the idea of “ I am an agent" "My house" "My watch" "My borse;" and when coucrit has been removed and the mind is tranquillized, a person realises that whatever he is engaged in, is due to the force of fructescent works which have commenced to bear fruit. If it be said, manifestibility of the unreal world is detrimental to Self-knowledge, the professor therefore illustrates it by cxample, to show it can do no injury. + ·VICHAR MALA. 08 Like a happy or bad dream Unaffecting a person in the waking condition ; Sight of the external world or its want, Affects not Self-knowledge. As in dream, a person may perceive either happivess (it may assume the form of his being a king with a large army, immense wealth ; or a beggar starving, houseless,] or misery, but when he is awake, recollection of that bappiness or misery can cause him neither benefit por injury; similarly this unreal world,-a product of ignorance; cannot cause him any injury subsequent to knowledge, though he takes cognizance of it as before. To this effect the Phanchadasi says, "When the perception of unreality of phenomena has been firmly confirmed, a prince of knowledge fears them not, though they appear tangibly real,-on the other hand, they lead to his glory," [hy stimulating his conviction and exercising a constant watch, so as not to be taken in, by the illusion of its apparent realityhe has nothing to fear, to affect his knowledge of Self.) Why? Because, Hunger, thirst, grief, joy, birth and death Are properties of the gross and subtle bodies. Self is free from them, He is infinite, Hunger, and thirst, grief and joy, birth and death belong to i regiuso and subtle body,* whose properties they are. Self is infinite, and eternal, he is therefore devoid of them, and a theosophist perceives bim so, i. e. no other than Brahma; be- Hunger and thirst are created by the Prana ; Grief and joy by the mind. Now the subtle body has sixteen. features of which mind and Prana are two ; and as it continues till emancipation, it is therefore not subject to birth and death which affects only the physical body.

·69 ᏤICH A Ꭱ ᎷᎪᏞᎪ. cause what cannot be limited by time and place is iufinite, and Brahına is mentioned in the Sruti, as "all-pervadiog,'--therefore one with Self. Then again, uon-eternal substances are destroyed in time, but Self is eternal, therefore indestructibles for which he is not limited by time; and as this holds true with Brahma too, therefore they are one. The gross physical body is subject to Birth, growth, decline and death. How can you remove them from me, And say Atma is Self-illuminated ? Bhagavaua, I am subject to birth and death, I do not understand how you can do away with them. To say they are the attributes of the physical body and belong to it does not satisfy me, nor ain I convinced of it. Replies the Guru. Intelligence is non-dual, pure, Tranquil and one. Birth, And death are not possible for Self, Nor conceit either. Incomparable is he. Intelligerce is secondless, faultless, unborn, undecaying, and free from the distinctions of similarity and its reverse ; and That art Thou.' (Yourself is that intelligence] how can it be said to take birth and death? Therefore it is unrivalledwithout a second equal to it-and how Can you have a conceit that you are born and subject to death ? Therefore by doing away with them you remove the rest of the six modifications and Self appears as subtle. The pupil now asks his professor, if the six modifications naturally belong to the physical body, and are no part of me, wby am I happy and miserable? Why do I recognise them in myself, thus to transform him into an enjoyer?

·VICHAR MALA. 70 And the Guru replies, Site of enjoyment is the body, its Means are the external organs Mind and intellect are the enjoyers, You are none of these four. of sense ; Subjects of the senses, --sound, form, taste, smell and touch are cnjoyed by the physical body; the senses helping the perception of these objects, to be enjoyed by the astral body recognized in mind and intellect; you are their discovering intelligence, distinct from them all, and therefore neither au agent nor enjoyer. From an absence of similarity between Self and not-Self, there can be no cognition of the Atma in the physical and subtle bodies, though he pervades them. The thiee bodies cause, subtle and gross, Mind, intellect, vital airs and sense, Are all insentient; you are not thes, But Intelligence which is proof, The cause-body is that primordial, unborn Prakriti or Ignoravce; the subtle has seventeen features-five senses, live active organs, five vital airs, mind and Intellect, the physical body is the foodful sac, or what is derived from food, and depending entirely upon it for growth, sustenance and health. Now these three bodies have not the distant sem. blance with You' for they are insentient and yourself is intelligence. Thus" from want of similarity, or resemblance between them and yourself, you connot be mistaken for them, nor coguised so. If it be asked where is the proof of this intelligence? We have the evidence of Sruti to the purpose as- "This Atma is the internal, invisible heart and discoverer of "all [objects]." If a wise person never mistakes Self with not-Self, please say from what relation is Self discovered in the three bodies ?

·I'ICHAR MALA. Like one thread-folded thrice and tied into a knot, Is pure Self, this world is discovered. In other words, as yarn thrice-folded and afterwards, tied into a knot embracing all the folds, and as in that thread beads are hung which only are discovered by the sight and not the thread (that exists nominally) and as between the thread and the beads the relation is an imaginary one caused by the name and form of the latter, so from an imaginary 'identical relation' are the three bodies connected with Selt, discovered. The associates (cause, subtle and physical bodies) are unreal, but the reflected shadow of intelligence in them is real. As a toy made of rag has its features marked, But without thread it cannot be made. So are all dependent upon Self, And without that pure Iotelligence, there is nothing. Like a toy made of rag having hands and feet, dressed with colored cloth, now both this cloth aud that out of which the toy is made are artificial products of yarn, for if duly considered it will be found there can be no cloth, without yarn, and no toy without cloth ; similarly the three bodies and -- flected intelligence, are artificial contrivances, and not soinething over and above the pure Intelligence, Self. Why then are happiness and misery felt in convection with material substances ? Sight of Elephant and chariot produces happiness Discrimination removes it, just as sugar dissolved in water. The sight of elephant, horse and chariot is productive of happiness so long as the discrimination of their upreality is not ascertained, with that they are all destroyed just as sugar disappears in contact with water. Similarly without discrimi- ·VICHAR MALA. 72 nation the physical body and the rest are. productive of happiness, but with the reality of its receptacle or site, Self, being discovered, that body is reduced and can produce no more happiness. A person without knowledge of that substrate, vehicle, or site is thus spoken of disparagiogly Who knows not his own nature, Call tim stupid. Just as a Gardener engaged in watering the leaves and branches, But not the root of a tree. A person unacquainted with Brahma which is naturally, without the euvelopment of ignorance, undertakes sacrificial offerings aud other works, with a motive of being benefited thereby, or worships other Devas, and not Brahma, from want of knowing It to be the substrate; but what does he know of that worship and sacrifice ? He knows not that they are productive of results which are subject to destruction like ordinary acts-trade, agriculture etc. But it may be objected, since Brahma is all-pervading, whatever a person worships is no other but Brahma ; hence there can be no interdiction of worshipiưg any Deva, a person may fix his choice upon ; though this holds true, yet as these works cannot cause destructioň of igoorance, nor the acquisition of felicity, which is only to be derived from emancipation through knowledge, and becoming one with Brahma, therefore it is imperative, that a perssu should have Self-knowledge, as is said in the Panchadasi, "As a person cannot derive any fruit by simply watering the branches and leaves of a tree and not its root." [So one without Self-knowledge can never be released.] The next question which engages the attention is whether Devas and other substances are naturally discovered in Brahma or occasionally ? If the former they cannot be destroyed ; and as they are removed therefore they are occasional ; if so what is the cause ? What ought to be said ?

·73 VICHAR MALA. As gold melted into moulds assumes several shapes. So is Brahma made to appear many, through Maya. As when gold is melted and thrown into moulds, it assymes divers foris according to the character of the moulds, so through the associate Maya, Brahma is discovered manifold. But that leads you to an admission of change ; for change implies a substitution of some other form, for its original shape. As for instance milk converted into curd from the relation of an associated acid, that is its changed condition ; so Brahma through the associate of Maya leaves Its condition of Brahma, and is changed into a modification of the objective world : then like curd of milk, it is necessarily a changed condition. But this inference is due to ignorance of what the Sidhanta says. Only vivarta is admitted in It. That means a changed condition without any difference of form being produced.* Brahma does not abandon Its natural Intelligence, bliss, and eternal existence to be transformed or converted into ether or other objects, as in the following examples :- As all earthen articles are transformations of earth; Ice, a modification of water; Cloth that of yarn. So kuow Self to be the world. The sight of a snake in rope, A stump for a thief, And silver in nacre Tempting a mind to grasp it. * With reference to causes, it has been said, that when a cause undergoes change of form to produce an action, it is Vikara or pari nama. But where no such actual change of name and form takes place it is called Vivarta: curdled milk is an instance of the former, as snake in the rope, of the second. -DÆOLE's Veilanta Sara. p. 34.

·VICHAR MALA, 74 As motion in air, luminosity, beat etc., in fire, As tree in a seed, and wave in river current, A pumpkin of sugar, with its color and form, When caten, then only known. As the light which kindles a lamp, As ether in a jar and temple Are non-different; but appears so, from A difference of associate; so is this world in Solf. These are so many illustrations, shewing phenomena to be a vivarta of Brahma, like earthed articles of earth etc. If you say the world to be real; that is impossible. Therefore say it is unreal. Anath says it is astonishing, That it cannot be described. If the world which is a modification (vivarta) of Brahma be regarded as real, it is impossible so to maintain: for 'real' signifies what continues in all conditions of time ; but knowledge of Brahma which is the substrate and site of this material expanse destroys its reality altogether: [moreover in profound slumber phenomen cease to exist] therefere it is unreal, and that is another name for indescribable, as it means what cannot be adequately described by words; but what is different from real and unreal, whether one or the other, is indescribable. What has form and directly cognisable is true, and what are liable to destruction like a jar etc., are called upreal. If you say it resembles the site of a superimposition [as the site rope, of the superimposed snake) listen to what I say. It is indeed astonishing, because discovering everything else, Self is not a subject of discovery. Hence be cannot be described in words. Thus is removed this material expanse in One, who says Self and it are one. Who reads this, suffering under such mistake, Knows Self to be intelligence, ·75 VICHAR MALA. BOOK VI. On the unreality of the world. SAYS the pupil Bhagavan! My mind has its doubts yet, How do you say the world, upreal ? remove them. Lord! You have said before, the world to be unreal, but I could not follow the drift of your arguments, hence I have doubts yet lurking in the mind, do kindly remove them, by repeating what you have to say. For this purpose the professor now begins to show how that unreality is due to an action of ignorance according to the sight of a theosophist: and with its destruction, the world which is its product only, ceases to appear as an everlasting reality. As mentioned in the Shastras :-"When the meaning of "That art Thou" has been clearly explained by the professor, a pupil attains knowledge of non-duality and his mental fra tion then assumes the shape of, or is modified into Brahma; BO that, ingorance and its product which neither existed before, nor now and in the future, are destroyed. And this is discovered by a theosophist only, as in the following cxample: Guru. Like mirage water, cold; And ether, the abode of lotus; A beautiful son of a sterile woman, Is this manifested world [unreal.] As when a child is very troublesome, thc purse to humour ·VICIAR MALA. 70 him repeats a pleasnt tale of some fairy city or like the coldaces of the water of sandy waste, and the lotus of ether (ether flower | said to be very fragrant, or like a sterile woman's beautiful son all these are unreal yet they express a certain meaning ; so is tbis objective world really non-existent and discovered or manifested through illusion. The subject is further illustrated by reference to the seven verses which tollow. Like other mistaken with cloud; there The images several and many, Fight and quarrel with anger : This is discriminating its unreality. Anath whom does not dream create mistake ? Who abandong his former ideas; and seeks knowledge Knows what the world is, [A creation of illusion and unreal). Light of the sun falls upon all objects ; Who makes bis garland according to his taste, And wears it knowingly, is called The good-mind, and that fits him well. 'Like aiming at a horned rabbit, or Persons moving in the sky. With garlands, tempting another To follow, and running again for it. Much begging no one gives to ; it Creates mutud quarrel; and The beggar gets no benefit from it, So consider this world. With the (water of the waves of the sea seen in the sky Building a city-the clouds, So with the cognition of the perfect Brahma, Make the world rest on It.

·77 VICHAR MALA. Like mirage water-irrigating the sky, And spreading its fragrance of flowers ; Do consider the world so, And know it, Just as the moving clouds assume the form of human figures in the sky who are seen to fight and quarrel, or their imaginary resemblance with other substances, eo in Brahma, tbis vast material expanse from ether downwards, is extremely unreal. Says the pupil : This world speaks to all the world, Moreover it is tangible, how then Is it upreal ? Say worshipful sire! Worshipful Guru, creating a desire of release in all and holping them to experience felicity, everywhere in Sruti, Smriti the existence of phenomena is mentioned. It is likewise an object of visible perception, how then do you speak of its extreme unreality? If it were so, the texts explanatory of origin would be perfectly useless :-“From which these elements have derived their origin," and "from Self has sprung up ether" (while treating on sacred formulae, for recanting during prayer). In this manner, from the unreality or phenomena, reality of poumena is also done away with, and from an absence of product there will be no necessity for declaring Iswar as a cause--all this would indeed be absurd. These are some of the doubts which have taken possession of me. Do remove them. They are now being removed by maintaining the extreme unreality of phenomena, and its indescribable nature. Guru. Sight of a rope leads to several illusions. Some say it is the root of a tree, another a snake; Sight of nacre creates difference many, Some say it talc, another silver.

·VIOHAR MALA. 789 As a bit of rope creates a variety of illusious,--to one it appears like the root of a tree, to another it is a spake, or a furrow on the earth and as nacre creates the several illusions of talc, silver, etc., from "this" present along with it, all these are said to be indescribably produced. What is that? a person who has an impression of a suako seen in a previous period of time, along with defect of sight creates that mistake in a string, by the connection of his sight with a string along with a previous impression. As the particular property of that string is not then discovered, nor its texture [tissue out of which it is made) but only its ordinary attribute "this," similarly in nacre, its peculiar triangular shape, bluish color etc., are not discovered, but only its ordinary "that,” so that the mental function through the organs of vision pervade that string or nacre, and is modified accordingly into "this." Iutelligence associated with the mental function modified into "this" assumes two shapes viz., of snake and the form of its discovery. That is to say, Ignorance is modified into snake, and knowledge discovers that snake or nacre. Similarly the impression of stick in a person coupled with defective sight when comes in relation with a string, Tho mental function assumes the shape of that stick and the string is taken for it. A wreath and garland are also similarly produced from their previous impressions along with defective sight creating a connection with the mental fuuction through the visual organs and pervading it; ultimately its ignorance is modified into a wreath or garland, and its intelligence discovers them. When therefore one string gives rise to three different illusions, in three different persons, they depend upon the associate of mental function assuming the modification of the substance whose impression he has, and he perceives one only, and not another. This is called the Indescribable mode of accounting for the snake illusiou.

·79 VICHAR MALA, all Self is perfect, non-dual, indestructible, Devoid of action, and infinite. To imagine phenomena in biin Is unreal, i. e, non-eternal. Atma is all-pervading, secondless, indestructible, devoid of action, and infinite; for explaining him, the objective world with its diversified and multiform objects are in the Srutí unnecessarily attributted to Self; which is unreal and indescribable and therefore synonymous. To regard in this way phenomena removes all doubts. Because it is possible to speak of the evolution of this indescribable universe ; and that does not tell against the theory of its origin. Similarly, from a know. ledge of its site, it is possible to cause its destruction, and that also does not tell against the view which maintains it : and an indescribable world can easily have a cause (Iswar) to admit which is not therefore contradictory. As bubble, foam and wave are not distinct from water, So is this material expanse non-distinct from Pure and unassociated (Intelligence). As bubble, foam or froth and waves are all so many forms of water and not distinct from it, so is the world not a separato entity existing outside of, or independently of Self, who is pure unassociated Intelligence and substrate or its site. This is the rule, It may be contended, if from its site, superimposition or projection of another substance on it, is not a distinct entity, independently existing; how is the physical body with its members which are superimposed on Self capable of progression and doing a variety of acts ? The reply is In that perfect Self the attribution of phenomena Resembles gold and its modification coin etc., He is secondless, pure, unrivalled, unborn, The attribution of name is unimportaut. > ·VICILAR MAL 1. 51 Though in regard to Solf, the world is of different form, from him, yet as a coin made of gold is different from an ingot of the same metal, and is practically used in barter, and gifts; so from Sel the physical body etc., different from him iu shape, are found to move and walk etc., In short, intelligence guides the movements of the body, helps it to cognise and discover, and its seuses to carry on their functions; and of that intelligence the body is but mother form ; just as a golden coin or ornament is that of gold, But then the site (Intelligence) will be subjected to modification. To such an objection the professor now turns to answer, holding an absence of relation between the site and body etc. ; From wood is made a spindle or wheel, Which produces thread froin cotton. Cloth is produced from that cotton, And from cloth, a doll. These fight and quarrel ainongst them ; But where is the connection between Wood and fighting ? So is the Illusion of body, a modification of Brahma Created by the ignorant. And there is no such councction.] As there is no connection with wood and cloth and fighting of dolls, [these fight between them); so the Pure Brahma resembles that wood and cloth; and like that spindle or spinning wheel, Maya procreates the world from a preponderance of its dark quality, first giving rise to subtle clements, which then quintuplicate and become gross ; ultimately creating the fourteen adodes [Bhur, Bhuvur, Swar, Nuhas, Janas, Tapas, Satya, Sutala, Atal, Vitala, Patala, Talatal, Rasatal, and Mahotal] together with their respective inhabitants and adequate food and drink. Now these inhabitants resemble XI ·82 VICHAR MALA. the dolls, with their three bodies, bands and feet, and org was, sensory and active, Brahma has no connection whatever, just as between fighting and wood there is none: and that connection is an imaginary creation of the ignorant. As owl: conside, the sun to be dark and that does not affect his light, so is this attribution of the ignorant, of Brahma being subject to change, does no harm to It. If the world is really non-existent how can knowledge of Brahma destroy it ? Brahma is a gem priceless, With lustre unrivalled and endless. To say It to be wanting is not correct; So is the visibility of this world As in a priceless gem its pure brilliance, and unri. valled lustre, is not distinct from it, and it is impossible to remove it; so if the world is really wanting in Brahma how can it be destroyed ? If it be alleged, knowledge of Brahma causes its destruction as mentioned in the Vedanta then the question is whether destruction takes place in what is eternally removed ? As for instance, no snake exists in a rope it is eternally removed from it, yet it is of daily occurrence, and knowledge of a rope in all its parts causes the removal of themistaken snake, Says Anath, how do you speak of Beginning, middle and end ? As if the sun were not to create the Distinction of night and day; there will be no day and night. Says Anathdasji. If naturally the world is non-existent in Brabiga, bow does it spring up, continue and be destroyed ? As

·VICHAR MALA.
83
without a difference between day and night created by the sun,
there will be no day and night.
The sixth Book speaks of the world, unreal,
And it disappears. Produced from
Ignorance, it is destroyed
With the rising of knowledge.

·84 VICHAR MALA. BOOK VII. In the present treatise, the pupil discloses the benefit of the instruction received frona his Guru after tendering bis salutations and respects repeatedly : Says the pupil, Over and over I salute thee, Worshipful Guru, kind to the poor. Sage ! thou hast destroyed the World illusion by thy sweet worüs. Thou kind Guru! My illusion about the existence and reality of the world has disappeared from hearing thy kind instruction, therefore do I offer my salutations over and over. But then after having acquired this priceless treasure in the form of Selfknowledge, it is but proper for a pupil to present his professor with something equally priceless; and salutations ( as they cost nothing) are not adequate. Therefore it is said, there are two substances in this world, not-self and self. Of them not-self is unreal, insentient and for its being a product of ignorance is worthless, and not fit for giving away. Self is devoid of action and as he has attained him through his professor's kindness, therefore cannot be given as a present; consequently salutations only are offered. Bhagavan, through your kindness Doubts are gonc. Naturally pure Is Self, that I know well : And though in body, he is not it, Bhagavan, says the pupil, through your kind instruction all doubts concerning that non-duality which is the subject to ·VICIAR MALA. 85 be proved by the testimony of Sruti and Upanishads are gone. I know well now, Self is Intelligence and bliss, which up to the present moment I was ignorant of; and though residing in the body yet "am I” different from it, just as butter extracted from curdled milk (floating in a can of butter milk) remains distinct from it. I am neither ignorant, por have I any Good and bad; neither am I Iswar nor Jiva ; All these seven are unreal; they are not myself Neither pure nor free from faults-of wife etc. “I am ignorant" signifies a person wanting in knowledge as its reverse is called wise; but ignorance belongs to Jiva, who is the reflected shadow of intelligence, and as “I am" not Jiva, hence have no necessity to avoid prohibited works, and practise the lawful. Then again, since there is no Jiva in me, the reflection of intelligence in Maya—Iswar-am I nnt. Because I am eternal, existence, and Maya is material and impermanent, therefore for their natural antagonism, it cannot be present. I am neither one with the predicato of the pure internal organ nor its reverse,—a man of the world with his attachment for wife children, wealth etc., for they are the attributes of the physical body-which I am not. I belong not to any of the four asrams, Neither am I a Deva, nor man, Nor am I a Guru, nor pupil, Free from six, perfect Self am I, onc, Urchangeable, indestructible; Fręc from length and shortness. The four (asranis) orders are referable to different periods of life:1st, that of the student or enquirer of Self-knowledge Brahmachari ; 2nd, that of the house-holder or Grihasta ; 3rd, that of the anchorite or Vanaprastha ; and 4th, that of ·86 VICHAR MALA. the beggar or Bhiksha ; and the four conditions of Deva apd humanity, of Guru and pupil or merit or demerit, all these belong to the physical body whose property they are ; they are not mine) because I am the perfect Self, unchangeable, indestructible, knowing no decline nor growth. As said in Dhyandwipa (Panchadasi) "Caste and order are a creation of illusion, they belong to the physical body, and not Self, who is intelligence. This is well known to a theosophist.” Self distinct from the subtle body is thus shewn: Mind, intellect, sense, vital airs, The elements five, knower and knowledge, Nor the object known "am I." All these belong not to me, yet Iam in them. The twelve organs of sense, action and internal perception, (beginning with the mind with the vital airs are the seventeen distinguishing features of the subtle body) together with the five elements ether and the rest, distinction created by the internal organ with the reflected intelligence present in it, viz, of knower, knowledge and the object to be known are nos naturally with myself, but I am present in them. As the Gita says, "One who has restrained his mind by practising Yoga sees self present in all the elements and bodies derived from them, and regards them non-different from him. I am Intelligence ; the world is an illusion Like a magic show. I' and 'Thou' are unrivalled. To say otherwise, and connect them 80, Is improper and impossible. Since I am Intelligence, and the external world is a creation of illusion, like things produced in a magic show, therefore to say “I am wise," " Thou art stupid," "He is a friend," and thus to connect self with this and that and create a relation with the world is improper and impossible: for that self is unri- ·VIOLAR MALA. 87 rolled, --secondless. Unreality of plenomena is thus spoken of in the Triptidwipa of the Panchadasi “This material world (a duality) for its unthinkable composition is unreal.” Self is not the physical body. Residing in the body, he is not it : For he is free and Intelligence. Beyond d votion, and its reverse Neither one with them is he. East and west, high and low; North and south, nor is he: Neither long nor short, Nor out porain. Without birth and death ; Without the distinction of form, taste etc., Neither an agent nor enjoyer, Neither subject to grief nor steady. The collective interpretaion of the above verses goes to establish Self distinct from the body though seated within it (the physical body), and a theosophist sees him everywhere but never mistakes either the body or the whole material expanse with Self. But it may be objected, How is Self who is one, capable of being seen by theosophists in one way, and generality of mankind in the opposite manner ? Therefore it is said, sajd, Impure sight produces all manner of illusions When that defect is gone, actuality is discovered. As for example, when seen in connection with the as- Bociate of water the reflected shadow of the sun appears many and moving, and if the associate water be removed, he is one light and known accordingly.

·88 VIOILAR MALA. Iligh and low, without qualities or with them A beggar or king. How is he to be spoken so? Allblissful is be. High and low are the artificial divisions of society according to the accident of birth ; a person for his wealth is said to be a great man, and one without it very low. In this way, a king is the highest and a beggar the lowest scum of society. But Self is none of them ; Ignorance creates such a perception in the stupid, and they say "I am rich," "I am high," or "I am a beggar," "I am Brahman,” thus connecting Self with this casto and that, or wealth and destitution. But when that enveloping force of ignorance has been destroyed, and Self is discovered in all his natural luminosity there is no more preception of highuess and lowness. As is said in the Ilaritatwa mooltabali :-"In the knowledge of the Supreme Self, bas been destroyed conceit for the physical body; and wherever a theosophist's mind dwells, everywhere he sees Brahma.' Perception or cognition of phenomena is due to ignorance, its principal cause. From the stimulus of mind Are seen phenomena ; say What is possible for them, when The mind is destroyed ? With the stimulation or excitement of the mind is produced a tangible cognition of phenomeną, and when that mind is tranquillized, they too are removed. WIow? In the waking and dreaming conditions, the gross and subtle world are discovered; but in profound slumber, when the mind ceases to carry on its function, there is no perception of external objects; therefore we find, from a connection of mind is produced a cognition of phenomena, and with its exclusion, there is a destruction of them. When Brahma who is the substrate or site on which all this material expanse is superimposed or projected ·VICIAR MALI. 89. ( is not fully known, then only is it possible for the. Oljective world to be perceived. [But with that knowledge; the world ccases to exist just as a snake does in a rope when it is fully known to be a rope.] Or to speak more plainly:- There is no cause, no product, none whatever, Neither time, nor province. He is perfect, Blissful, unmoveable, without any Distiuction of similarity and dissimilarity. That all-pervading Self is devoid of action, and like happiness itself; "I am he." He is neither a cause nor product, inasinuch as cause is always one that has form; as for instance of a jar, the cause earth, his form ; and what is formed, is non-cternal ; whereas I am eternal, because I have no form. And as a product is non-eternal (a jar for iostance) and I am eternal, I am therefore no product. Then again, from want of another substance equal to him, Self is said to be without a mark of similarity; nor is there a difference, as between cloth and jar, there are marks of dissimilarity: because that would only happen if there were another Brahma, (Self and Brahma are one), in that case between one Brahma and another would be present the distinction of similarity, as between two pieces of clothes, Moreover in the creation of dissimilarity already referred to, (as between a cloth and jar) there must be required an entity different from Brahma but equally eternal and existent. But since there is not another cutity of that nature, Brahma is therefore said to be ovoid of marks of dissimilarity. Though Jiva and Iswar are dissimilar to Brahma, yet as they are material, they cannot be regarded in that light of dissimilar octities. In reference to this, the Panchadasi says, "Between a cloth and its thread the difference is of similarity [for included in it), so is Brahma not personali.e., with form)” for which, there is not a similar dislinction of similarity like that between a cloth and its yarn). XII ·.90 VICHAR MALA. Nature of Brahma as site is thus declared :- "I am one," this cannot be maintained. How can it be said to be two. It is perfect: neither subject to growth and Decline ; and knows no change. Number one has neither name, genus, or attribute therefore Brahma cannot be identified with it, how can number two therefore do it? for the wish to do (praviti) is caused by a word having quality, action etc., and they are wanting in Brahma, so that to say, Brahma is not perfect and liable to growth and decline is absurd. Neither Viswa, nor Taijas, Neither Prajna, nor Turya In him ; naturally knowing is he: I' and Thou' there is none. Here we find Self, differentiated from Viswa, Taijas, Prajna and witness. He is pure intelligence and there is no egoism or conceit of l' and 'Mine' Thou' and 'Thine'. Viswa- Consciousness associated with collective totality of gross bodies is called Vaisanara, for the conceit that it is universally present and Virat for it manifests in divers forms. Viswa, Vaisanara, Hiranyagarbha, Taijas and Prajna are one and the same, as the space absorbed by a collection of several trees included in a forest is one, or the reflection of sky in several small collections of water included in the vast expanse of sea or oceau is one. For the conceit of the wakiug, Dreaming and profound slumber; Who experiences them all; Blissful is that (Self ]. In the last verse, we find Viswu etc., have been showa ·VICHAR MALA. 91 Cube distinct from Brahma ; but they cannot be done away with altogether; for the conceit that he is the collective totality of all gross bodies, he is called Viswa; and for a similawconceit of the subtle body-its collective aggregate--he is Taijasa; and in profound slumber when the original cause body of Ignorance alone remains, and the mind, organs, the other two bodies are reduced to non-being, for a conceit in that body he is called Prajra ; and that intelligence who discovers all these conditions is called in the Shastras "the blissful”; therefore there is no interdiction meant. He has to practise nothing, nor has he the means. He has no success to hunger after, Neither proof nor demonstrator [is he]. Nor the object to be proved. Anath! Self has no necessity for practising the means of kpovledge or any works to clear the mind of all blemishes, nor docs he hunger after success, derived from a particular set of practice. Proofs, demonstrator and the subject to be proved are not for him ; [He is pure Intelligence and free, and as he is unborn, he has nothing to do for emancipation). *He has no instructions to receive from the Shastras. Neither does he beg, accept gifts nor give away. Neither place, time and qualities, Nor disputes can cause him any injury. For him there is neither lawful nor probibited. Neither lorer r slave is he; But resembling the pure Intelligence, Perfect and full of luminosity (is he). No meditator is he): neither meditation nor the object meditated. Is present in my pure nature. Acceptable and not worthless. He is Universal, pervading everywhere, ·92 VICHAR MALA. u From want of ignorance, he stands in no need of eitherpreceptor or the Shastras; and from want of generosity he gives away nothing. He is devoid of the usual places, (eyes heart and the throat), and time--waking, dreaming and ridfound slumber—and the three qualities good, active and bad. He is neither a controversialist engaged in wrangling on 'spirituał. questions, nor is he victorious or defeated in such discussions. 1 Say pupil, if you have experienced All you have heard. · He admits and is silent. Says the servant Anath, from a good professor That pupil learnt all his body etc., Says the Swami Anath Dasjee :- The pupil having, by means of instructions received from the professor, ascertained all that was said to him, and experienced Brahma and Self are one, leaves off useless talking and becomes reserved in speech. The professor with a view of examining him enquires of him in a declaratory style, Thus does a pupil become wise, By the method laid down ; Guru Now raises his objections for The pupil to decide, to test his knowledge.

·VICHAR MALA. 93 BOOK VIII. The subject of the present treatise is introduced by the author in the opening verse : Cognition of non-element i. e. Self, Produced felicity in the pupil or not ; For examining him, the professor Treats on kindness. Whether cognition of the secondless Reality Brahmawhich is no element-produced felicity in the heart of the pupil, or not, the professor with a view of removing his doubts about it, kindly does he address. But as it is apt to create misapprehension, for the ascertainmeut of the indication of transcendental phrases "That art Thou" etc., is sure to lead to the experience of felicity hence where is the cause of the Guru's doubting about itTo clear this, it is said, as in a tender thorn there is no possibility of its causing pain by piercing the flesh, for it is too green; but it is quite possible of judging its nature; so from once hearing the transcendental phrases explained, it is quite possible for doubts to remain in the knowledge of Self produced from them, and there can be no perception of felicity. No dispute needs be arraigoed against what has been said. From his own practice minimized, does he judge His pupil, whether he has been benefited by his instruction. That is to say, a the sophist has no inclination or desire, and by his practice shows his interdiction for all desires; he now judges his pupil by this standard to sce how much of de- ·94 VICILAR MALA. sires he' has in bii practically. Because begging for his deadly meal, and satisfying his hunger with whatever he gets and the scantiest strip-all these help him to do away with all desire of enjoyment, for he has literally minimized it; such a doctrine is maintajned in several works; and taking that for his guide, he lectures to his pupil on the three different grades 'of indifference :-of the ignorant, emancipated and a theosophist. Guru. From what you say, after knowledge What harin there can be for desire of enjoyment ? For relation of material well-being, Destroys intellect and rains knowledge of Self. Pupil. What you say, about there being no harm following after knowledge has arisen from hearing the precepts on the transcendental phrase "Tbat art Thou," yet for a person shewing an inclination for material comforts, is improper. Because the intellect for discrimination of Self and not-Self gets clouded from material attachment and desire of enjoyment, and from an absence of that discrimination, the mind ię apt to entertain doubts. When Self is known to be indestructible, Undecaying, secondless, and infinite; There can be no attachment for the world, Listen to it, and know it to be true, Pupil, from the hearing of the fanscendental phrases, when a person comes to know Self ($dividuated) is young, indestructible, infinite, secondless, his predilection for world and its goods is removed ; just as a milchty emperor never feels any desire for becoming the chief of a ew villages. If it be said, mind can never rest without resting or an object, then fix it constantly on the consideration of the Reality Brahma, that will steady it.

·VICIAR MALA. 9.7 And a theosophist is without any desire for material comforts; because So long as one knows not the pure Self, There is no knowledge : and his mind Pervades all dirty and impure objects, And his ignorance continues. A person devoid of Self-knowledge, enveloped iu iguorance, shows an inclination for material objects, which are all its products ; but when that ignorance is destroyed and he discovers Self as no other than Brahma, just as a person shows an avidity for coarse food till he has tasted the sweet and exquisite dish of rice pudding, no more desires are left. What harm is there after knowledge has watured, To have recourse to usual practice ? And that knowledge "Self am I" How can it be productive of misery? Pupil, if you say, I know "I ain the pure and perfect Brahma," and have nothing proper for me to do, nor anything . which I am prohibited from not perforniing ; in that case, there will be no inclination for the usual practices ; for the very faintest semblance of whose happiness makes the uviverse feel happy, for such a theosophist to be pained like an ordinary person is quite impossible to believe. The author now poiuts out the purport of his word and asks his pupil to restrain his mind from begettiug desire of enjoyment. One who is indifferent to enjoyment is released. Oue baving affectic for them is bound. So say all works; from that, Ascertain want of desire in the wise, Pupil, indifference to enjoyment in this life or the uext, ·10 VICILAR MALA. 1 is a means for begetting a desire of release, and one helving that indifference is called cmancipated, as its reverse, an attachment for worldly comforts and material enjoyments, makes a man subject to re-births. To this efiect, the teachings of the sucred scriptures go, as mentioned elsewhere :-"An ignorant person shows regard for worldly goods and aversion for relcase.” Aud "desire of enjoyment is an indication of ignorance." Hence "a theosophist is certainly devoid of desire." All works have this purport, so do what you think best for you, and as you like. Now though that purport to establish indifference as the principal means for procuring release from subsequent re-births, and as the present pupil has already acquired knowledge of Self as one with Brahma, so that what has been mentioned in connection with disregard of material enjoyments does not apply to him ; "yet an oppositionist does not see what is blissful or beneficial to him” as mentioned by a professor of Nyaya to his pupil, and to remore it, the Sidhanti says, the quotation in inapt. Kindness of the Guru is thus declared by the author :- He shows kindness to the pupil, Who takes protection of the Guru. And by illustratiou, repeatedly Fixes in his mind, the indifference of the wise. A pupil taking protection of his rofessor is always treated with kindness, and by illustrations repeatedly has his mind fixed on the indifference of the wise. Moreover, beyond that substrate Brabma, everything else superimposed on It, is unreal : this a theosophist knows to a certaj ity, and for the matter of that unreality, he has no desire of Djoyment. As in parched grains there is no productive power So has a theosophist destroyed all materia desires.

·VICHAR MALA. 97 As grains boiled or parched in fire cannot germinate and fructify, so is a theosophist weakened in all material desires ; ar ' he has none of them. Why then are theosophists found to differ in practice ? Some show a disinclination, others a predilection; therefore it cannot be maintained that they are without desire of material enjoyments and it has ceased. Anath ! theosophists all have One doctrinc as their own; From ignorance alone Is produced a variety of opinion. Though theosophists are a numerous body of men, yet they have one doctrine in common, which they practise as mentioned elsewhere : -“What am I to do, where am I to go.” “What am I to take and what forsake ? Because my self is full of all things just as in cylic deluge the whole universo is covered over with water.” All thcosophists have this knowledge to a certainty ; and iguorant persons are distracted by many things which they believe to be certain truths; but of them it is impossible to say, so many are the varieties and so numerous are they. As Bashistha said to Ramchundra :-"All theosophists including myself have certain knowledge of the secoudless Reality but of ignorant persons I am quite unable to say what their various certainties are." But then, a wise person may not have any desire due to himself, but he my have it for another, or influenced by another's desire. 1 remove this misapprehension, it is said. To the wise, Service of many linds does a man of merit. While a bad mar trcats him unkindly. But he drinks that indignity, And is neither pleascd nor offended. XIII ·98 VICHAR MALA. Admitting want of an inclination in the wise personally, yet when he is duly served with a good dinner, and suitaple clothing by a man of faith and kindness, or maltreated by a hard-hearted person and beaten with a stick through the ju, fluence of his natural badness, it is possible under such circumstances for him to give a blessing and curse according to the treatment he receives. To such an incorrect surmise, the reply is, as in the case of the individual's body, the hands serve as the means of conveying food to the mouth and in thus serving it, the teeth are found at times cutting the tongue; yet the person knowing them all belong to him, is never offended; so a theosophist knows all are a part of Self, and he is therefore not offended with the teeth or maltreatment, so that he is neither pleased nor offended-or takes every sort of indignity upon himself: that is to say, he knows happiness and misery are owing to his fructescent works which have produced his present life and can only he exhausted by enjoying their results as mentioned in the Adhyatma Shastra. "One's accumulated works of previous births produce happiness or misery." But to this text, objection is taken as follows; To him the world appears tranquil, Who is himself tranquil in mind. But who connects it with three sorrows Shows inclination for its removal. From want of knowledge, ignorant persons find three vac rieties of pain, Spiritual, Accideutal, eto, affecting all creatures, and it is possible for them to desire its destruction and be free from pain. And those who through klowledge of Self, have no more desire and are tranquil in mind have an experience of felicity, and consider the world in thaḥ way, so that they cannot have any inclination for its want or absence. As the. Triptidwipa has it ·VICHAR MALA. 99 “When a theosophist knows Self in this manner (f. e., each individuated non-distinct Brahma am I) what more desire can henave for whose gratification he is to continue attached to his body ; [and since he has no more any desire, its remaining ungratified brings him no pain)." It from internal cognition of the felicity of Self, a theosophist regards this material expanse as full of it, a like experience of its felicity ought to be felt by worldly persons as well as worshippers ? Happiness from material objects is ( the province of a man of) world ; That of prayer, is serving Hari ; Of Brahma, is liberated in life, Freed from all desires.* A man of the world is delighted with sensuous enjoyment, -garland, sandal, women etc., which is said to be short in duration; a religious man feels pleasure from worship when his mental function assumes the modification of the object worshipped or medttated; and inasmuch as it depends upon individdal effort, it is not constant. Thus then, save and beyond the two conditions mentioned, there can be no perception of happiness to them, but with one liberated in life' it is otherwise; his felicity knows no break or interruption, it is constant : because from an absence of all sorts of impressions ( better still, desires ) the blissfulness of Brahma ( denuded of the .envelopmeni of knorance ] is discovered, and as that * Vasana popularly means desiro but in the strict nomenclature of Vedantic writing it has been used to signify impression derived from memory---kng yledge or present consciousness of past perceptions. I have retain d both of them, for the fact that the author is writing in the popular Hindi dialect, and his commentator in the learned language of Spiritual Philosophy.

·100 VICHAR MALA. Brahma is all-pervading, Its natural felicity illuminates every object of which the world is composed ; consequently he ( pc theosophist ) discovers that felicity everywhere. To be more plicit: Who desires not emancipation, Nor present nor future enjoyment, But is satiated in the felicity of Self, Is fearless; and has no equal. That theoscphist who is free from emancipation (desire of release) ; the means of knowledge (hearing, consideration, and profound contemplation); who has no wish either for present enjoyment or for the blissful abode of heaven ; who is satisfied always in the blissfulness of Self is the best person; hence he does not resemble other persons-worshippers and worldly minded, included. What use to bim of objects That are naturally non-existent? What is he to take And what forsake ? Since he knows it for certain, the natural non-existent condition of the objective world, he has no desire for any object; that has ceased, as a consequence : they are of no use to him, and he has neither to take nor forsake anything. But it may be asked, if a theosophist has no necessity for them, why does he beg for his daily bread etc., and thus practically shew the use he makes of certain things? Therefore he shows their reality (otherwise how can Fothing' be used ? ) and that reality is subject to destruction co ditionally. Here is the reply, As with the rising of the sud Light issuing of a lamp gets ſlim and absorbed : So in the felicity of Brahma All other felicitics merge, ·VICHAR MALA. 101 Like innumerable lamps lighted in day-time unable to of erpower the sun but are all absorbed in him, all felicitius ofrivable from enjoyment or sensuous gratification, or material prosperity become included in the blissfulness of Self which i theosophist has; hence he has no more desire for them. The unreality of objective phenomena is not due to following what has been removed (Vudhita anubriti). In the Nyaya, presence of inclination is maintained in a theosophist. (As) in Garud, is included cvery sort of conveyance. In nectar all tastes are exhausted. [So] with the rise of the sun of knowledge, All lamps got absorbed. As in the velocity.of motion, the bird Garud used as a carrier by Vishnu excels the speed of the swiftest horse, so all method of locomotion may be said to be included in him, so all manner of sweet substances and medicines, drawing it from the moon's rays grow in sweetness ; and as millions of lamps fail to overpower the sun's light, therefore they are said to be included in it, so where the Nyaya and other systems end, Philosophy of non-duality maintain in reference to a theosophist what is just going to be said.—The Purva Mimansa holds, sacrificial offerings and other similar works clear the mind of all blemishes and pave the way to knowledge. Kapila regards the word Thou,' when cleared of all inconsistencies (apparent, produced by its force or literal meaning) is helpful to knowledge ; ånd a Vyayika and Vaishesika 'consider' by the subtle condition of in ellect which they say is helpful to it. In Yoga, earnestness of he mind or concentrating the attention is held to be produc ve of knowledge ; and in the Uttar mimansa, it is said to be a direct cause of Self-knowledge. Thus then, whether drectly or secondarily, everywhere the fipality of knowledge is said to be that of Self; and therefore a theosophist is mcan Elence subsequent to gnosis he has ·102 VICHAR MALA. no more need of any works or of reading the Shastras : " for en knower of Brahma is Brahma." The subject is concluded with these remarks of the author. That good professor for trying The pupil, told him of worldly practices. To that, he says; on the influence Of fructescent, they depend. The professor wanted to test the knowledge of his pupil in regard to Self, and therefore interdicted other works being bad recourse to by a theosophist, save that of begging for his daily meal, and a strip of cloth round the loins. To that, the pupil declares in an humble tone with satisfaction sitting in his countenance, "a theosophist from the influence of fructescent works, continues to vivify the body (lives) and enjoy or suffer according to a preponderance of good or bad in his previous births which have brought out his present life, and therefore bearing fruit. The Vedas have no command for him which he may be constrained to follow and obey; but all his practices are entirely dependent on his fructescent works ; which are of several kinds" :- (1) Some show a larger amount of inclination as king Janaka. (2) Some have only disinclination as Bamdeva. Thus then, we find there is no rule which a the sophist has to follow (but he is free to act as best he likes. Though he avoids bad and demerit, yet they cannot injure im or bis Self-knowledge.] When actions are guided by an ttachment or earnest desire of being benefited thereby, the produce transmigration, but a theosophist has no such desire in him, hence he is never reborn.

·VICHAR MALA. 103 Says the pupil. Bhagaban, a knower of Self, Whatever enjoyment he has : Fixes not his intellect on it, But is tranquil and free from desire. Bhagaban, a theosophist from the influence of that unseen [adrishta], has his sbare of enjoyment, but he has no conceit for it, nor does he connect Self with an agent or enjoyer. Then again, as his passions and desires have all been destroyed (which are so many diseases of the internal organ or better, heart], he has naturally no predilection for it (enjoyment); for he is tranquil and free from the disease, gnoranco. But it can be maintained that the unreal attachment of a theosophist for worldly enjoyments may lead to his subsequent re-birth, in the same manner as the attachment of the ignorant does. To this the reply is :- An ignorant person is intensely desirous Of worldly enjoyments; for which he is reborn. A theosophist has it not, No matter whether he receives or forsakes. Ignorant men attribute all works to Self, consider him an agent or enjoyer, and have a conceit too, which a theosphist has not: hence though he may be found to be receiving alms, or giving a portion of them away [to his pupils), literally for the absence of that conceit and predilection for enjoymout, he is never subjected to re-irth. Why has he 30 onceit of Self as an agent? Because in the sight of a theophist, Jiva is neither a doer nor enjoyer. Infinite and endless are the course of the ignorant. Their heart resemble the wind in touching things. And suffer pain many, In the bodies they ivherit.

·104 VICHAR MALA. From a preponderance of good or bad, ignorant pers' are subjected to re-birth, and that re-birth may take the bo of an animal, a flea, a tiger, or man; in short it may inclı whatever there is in the creation; hence it is said to be enj. less; and the cause of that re-birth is desire, which like this wind, touches all objects, us a result of which, they are made to suffer pain incessantly in their respective bodies ; which again are as many as there are things in the world. Mind has now lost its fickleness and becoine tranquil. Jiva merges into Self, And lives ; the wise, devoid, of good and bad, Consider this vast creation with its infinite form to be no other than he. Like the vast limitless ocean, unbounded by any country resting in its owu grandeur my Self abides in Brahma uninfluenced by (Maya) illusion whose nature it is to create what looks at first sight to be impossible. And those who are cntranced in its meshes are subjected to the whirling incessant circle of re-birth, now as a reptile, another time a bird or beast, next a man, or vegetable according to tie predominance of good and bad works performed in the past life; these are, so to speak, so many waves in that calm and majestic bed of the ocean of Self. [In other words, the ignorant, for their conceit of the physical body and mistaking Self with it, creating him an agent and enjoyer, a doer of works and forgetting his real nature, arc blended with ignorance taking the objective world for a reality and behaving accordiuglys All that tends to their re-birth) Jiva is produced out of reflex intelligence; from the professor's instruction, by the use of “That art Thou," the pupil's intellect and thought art made unwavering like (the light of a lamp shut out from the wind) and that helps t him to cognise Self, thus enabling im to rest in his own diguity; and in this manner knowing him to be peither an agent nor enjoyer, he has no iuclinatio either for good or bad.

·VICHAR MAL.. 105 Why is Self not a docr and enjoyer in the sight of the vise ? Because him the Devas, Indra etc., express a desire to have; ܢܝܪ He is steady and deep. There rest the wise always, from, 'I,' and bou,''this' and 'that' removed. Self is actionless and very deep, Indra and the other Devas express a desire and wish to have (or acquire knowledge of ) him ; and for which knowledge I am your teacher, and you pupil'; 'this you should do that is a result of this,' and similar other expressions are directly opposed to him. To that Self they do not apply and are therefore opposed to those beliefs. The wise always rest there, and for the matter of that, have no such distinct knowledge of doer and action, There is no waking or dreaming, Where in profound slumber mind is absorbed. T' and 'Thou;' – there cannot possibly continue. Know that to be Self. Iu that Intelligence of Self there is an absence of waking and dreaming, and in profound slumber when the mind is destroyed ( ceases to exist practically ) that too is wanting in it. Moreover Intelligence has no such experience of l' and 'Thou'; and that Intelligence is regarded by the wise to be their Self. Whether or not the usual practices of the wise are productive of results ? A wise man pes many works, According to the ugual rules o: the world; But as smoke cannot get mixed with other, He knows th world is worthless [unreal). A wise person powing actions to be produced by the ·106 VICHAR MALA. senses whose respective function it is to be so engaged has recourse to the usual sacrificial works according to the prescribed rules laid down for their performance, or whether he be employed in eating and drinking for preserving the body, they can affect hira in no way, either for good or bad, [because knowledge has the force of destroying current works ] ; just as ether is not touched with mist, and its purity not affected thereby. { Actions ] in waking resemble profound slumber, So says the author of Yoga, Who endeavours so, has Felicity of Self acquired. In the practice of the eight varieties of the Yoga (Selfmesmerisation) is mentioned that a vise person's use of things in the waking state resembles that of profound slumber, when viewed from the standpoint of mental restraint. If it be alleged, without a knowledge of their utility or inutility, benefit or otherwise, how can works be undertaken? It is said, therefore, like good persons playing, . and boys without knowing what is beneficial or detrimental go on using their endeavours for a certain thing, are the practices of the wise similarly conditioned. And the difference, between the wise and good persons and boys consists in this, that he (the wise] experiences the Self, illuminated felicity of Brahma. He is without grief and happiness from the want of that discrimination of good and bad or what is beneficial or injurious. Like a king, in dream reduced to oeggary, But on waking not affected with it; So do the wise ; ſtaking the unrality of Material objects, feel no concern for them]. Like a king who dreamt while aseep in bed, that he was a beggar, and suffering the pange if hunger for baving b ·VICHAR NALA. 107 bad nothing to eat, so that he was about to die of .exbaustion : when he wakes up through the force of that unseen (Adrishta) to find it was all a dream, and that it has not caused him any injury at all, but that "I am the same king as before," and for his beggary he has neither grief to express, nor shew any pleasure ; 50 a theosophist is perfectly unconcerned for what comes to his share ; for he knows them all to be as unreal as objects created in a dream. From the above, the professor draws the following inference and concludes this part of the subjectio He is neither theist nor atheist, Neither is be one nor the other, Without lightness and weight, Qualities, and blemishes : [says he] “I am Intelligence." Unborn, and invisible, one and non-dual, Unspeakable and free. Anath! Self has no grounds ( of knowledge) And this is called knowledge. Says the pupil. My Self is not to be cognised either by works or by the senses, nor is he a subject of discovery for the internal organ; therefore he is one, and as he is not the subject of any explanatory words, he is therefore unspeakable, and free from all grief and misery. The 'seven grounds of knowledge' are not applicable to him, hence he is without them and he is no subject of coutenti n in the way of question and answer. Having thưs pard his pupil, the Guru praises him as follows: Praise be tot ee! Pupil of good intellect, Thou hast go, the unrivalled doctrine. Well hast thc 1 sought for a good professor, Thou hast berpme the Pure Brabma.

·108 VICHAR MALA. The professor was well pleased with the conclusion which his pupil had drawn about the nature of Self and he laud: 'him for the success which he has achieved in acquiring that knowledge, (for which he had to find a real professor capable of. imparting the needed instruction), and finding him firmly convinced of the truth of his oneness with the supreme Selfwhich doctrine is called unrivalled because it helps a person to be freed from the trammels of consecutive re-births-accosts bim thus:- Praise be to thee! for Thou hast succeeded admirably from the good intellect which you have. From this analysis, when a person Of discrimination adopts the four Means; finally to rest in meditation where words cease : He gains victory, like a performer.of magic. : A man of discrimination is one who is endowed with the four means of knowledge. [They are :--Discrimination of Brahma as the only Reality and everything else unreal; Indifference or disregard for enjoyments whether in the present life or the next; Passivity etc., already explained.] A person possessing them is called qualified ; in his case, hearing, consideration, profound contemplation and meditation, are the four means to enable him to acquire Self-knowledge and procure emancipation. Now 'hearing' is to hear the precepts of the vise and the utterances of the Shastras in regard to Self. Consideration' is to ascertain their drift; 'contemplation' is to realize that oneness of Jiva (individual Self with the Supreme Brahma by deep thinking—so that the mua may assume Its shape,--there is no use of worås then, hence it is said "where words ceasc," utimately to be one with It without any distinction of knower, knowledge and the Sbject to be known. (Samadhi). He who succeeds in this vay gains victory over ignorance, and tangibly perceives the atural blissfulness of Brahma which that ignorance had bith to enveloped ; just aš ·VICHAR MALA. 109 prize winner of a game gains victory after hard contest or performer of magic is gratified to fiod his illusion has ceeded well with the audience. This work is the best of its kind. It Contains many arguments and analyses. Anath, well it has discovered! The means of achieving success. As a devout person turns his beads, while engaged in prayer and at other times too, whenever he finds time; so is this book to be turned to the best account by constant study of the arguments employed for procuring emancipation. In other words, one desirous of release by constant study to ascertain the nature of the secondless Reality Brahma. And the arguments cmployed here, have a variety of indications illustrating that one truth of non-duality by examples as varied as the analyses are several. How the means,-Discrimination, Indifference the six substances included in our means viz., Passivity, Self-restraint etc., desire of release ; hearing, consideration, profound contemplation ; clearing the indication of the transcendental phrase “Thatart Thou, etc."; and from hearing what they explain-- achieve the desired success from the knowledge of non-duality, (oneness of Jiva and Brahma) which has been established in a certain manner beyond all dispute or the possibility of any doubt and mistake ; for all this the work is said to have given ample details to deserve the appellation of the best book of its kind in short, it has well done. An uncommon ualified person for the present work is declared in the followipg manner. All bondage of re-births cease, he wants That to be des oyed"I want it with All my mind” For him the present work Has been written; not for the wise nor stupid worldly.

·110 VICHAR MALA. Though it may be contended, as mention of a quali! person has already been made in a previous portion of the wi d. there is no necessity of re-opening the subject; but t refers to one qualified for Sanskrit works on the Vedanta: the Shariraka Sutras, Upanishadas etc., and their vernaculata rendering; and he is called 'an ordinary qualified person.' Here the secret doctrine of non-duality has been fully disclosed; that is to say, from force of ignorance and its product, I am subjected to repeated re-births, so that anybow that ignorance must be destroyed, and-one who has got this firmly scated in his internal organ and at the same time unable to study the Sanskrit works on the doctrine of the Vedanta, the Upanishadas, Shariralca Sutras, etc., such a person of dull intellect but desirous of release, is qualified uncomthonly for studying Vichar Mala. It is not intended for those stupid men of the world who have an attachment for wealth etc., nor for the wise. The work is eulogized in the following manner for inducing men desirous of release to study it. Other necklaces made of jewels and pearls Are apt to be destroyed and broken ; Uocommon garland of discrimination is this, Which no thief can take away. A garland of the six philosophies* Who has rocognised Self, from them, (This one is without duality) It adorns them all. Service of a king and the rest Bring happiness to men. But who likes this, is deprived Of all blemishes, and his thoug&t blends with thought. * The Commentator defines the Six Farshans in the following manner :-Serving a Yogi, inanimate objects, Brahman, an ascetic etc.

·VICHAR MALA. Anath has heard much, Spoken in several ways; Now discriminates the best of discriminations Again, so that there may be no necessity any more. Suys Anath Dassjee Swami :-I have heard many works road and explained, and have spoken in several various ways. (about what they explain 1 yet I have not been successful in reaching the pinuacle-emancipation. Now after describing the nature of the purc Brahma, all other arguments and analyses cease. The author with humility prays of poets in the two following verses (so that they may not unfavorably criticize him). Forgive me, knowing to be a pupil : There are many great poets. Do make the corrections after judging Of misspelling of words. This Vichar Mala has been written by Apath. Ram is the kind Guru : and it speaks of the company of the devout. (The reason why the work has been written is thus declared.) Narotum Puri, that friend of mine, Who is Brabma and guest in another place, Ordered me to send a description of Garland ; and I have obeyed him thus. What is now being mentioned is from hearing others on the subject, and not Personally known to the Commentator. He says, Anath Dassjee and Narotum Puri through mutual affection were travelling together; out of accident they separated. Anath Dassjee went to Cashmere and Narotum Puri came to Gujera at the well-known city of Baroda. Here he was duly respected by the State, and from force of fructes@ent works received th homage of the king and his officers ; thought of his other fried, and said, if my friend was really ·112 VICHAR MALA. annoyed with the world and staying in Cashmere, he would certain, whether according to the traditional doctrine of n duality, he was up to the usual practices of that sect, or he been deprived of them. For this purpose, he wrote him a let: to say, serd me a priceless garland containing thoughts on thë nature of the Supreme Lord (Parameswar). Knowing what he meant, Anath wrote this "Garland of thoughts” (Vichar Mala). And so he says in the above verse “That best frieud of mine Narotum Puri,---whose only guest of hospitality is that one Supreme Lord and whom he serves well-ordered me to write and I have obeyed him by writing the "Vichar Mala." The diguity of the work is thus set forth :- Who reads and writes it with (reverence and] love, And uses all arguments and weighs with judgment; Every moment his knowledge increases As the sun-increases in luminosity as he approaches the meridian, A person who writes the present work and reads it with reverential affection, fixing his attention, or hears it read out by a Guru, and weighs the arguments used, and judges them accordingly, [with all the available resources at his command) increases his stock of knowledge of Brahma ; and every. moment gets firmly convinced in It, just as the suu increases in luminosity as it approaches the meridian at noon. The following are the works used if its compilation : From Gita, Bhartri's doctrine and arguments, Used in the eleven ;* Ashtabukra, and The sage Bashishta ; all these have I taken, And added to them somethire of my own. * The Bhagvad Puran contains Elevp Sections. Probably what is meant.

·VICHAR MALA. 113 The Gita has texts like these :-"Never is the mind fixed," Doubts make the mind wavering." These and others like them, ave been purposely introduced in the Gita to explain and stablish what Self is, and his one-ness with Brahma. Bhartri compares desire to the strong current of a river that knows no rest, but is ever running, literally to signify gratification of one set of desires does not remove them, but is replaced by others : just as wave after wave keeps up the continuity of a river current. In the "eleven" the method used is :-"He is very kind, and there should be no tumultuous thought in regard to intelligence which is Self." Ashtabakra compares sensuous object with poison. The quotation from Bashishta refers to the seven grouuds of knowledge, and the unreality of this vast material expanse by withdrawal or rescission (apavada). All of them find adequate place in the present treatise, In the month of Choitra, Sumbut 1726, Have I published it, For benefiting men like me. FINIS.

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·INDEX A D. Continuell. ... ... ... non- A&CERTAINMENT of reality is Derotionnl exercises, meanthe subject aimed at, 4 ing of, 28 Address of Guru to his pupil, 15 Doubts regarding Accidental misery, meaning duality removed by conof, 24 sideration and their result, 62-64 Association with the wise, Doubts regarding the unreasuperiority of, 30 lity of phenomenal world, Absence of happiness in discussed and removed, 78-82 worldly objects discussed,... 50 Dialogues on various topics Atma Self-illuminate 70 Letween Guru and his pupil 93-108 B ... ... ... 43 24 Bad qualities in women discussion of, Brabina docs not abandon its natural intelligence bliss and eternal existence in worldly objects illustrated, ELEMENTARY misery, nicaning of, Emancipation is the final aim of humanity, 43 74 F C FELICITY, a theosophist discovers everywhere, 100 .. 19 .. the G 24 ... ... 44 GURU, superiority of, 5 71 where to be found, 7 examines the pupil in 93.108 various ways, CONTENTMENT is supreme felicity, Company of wise, explained, Chastity or Continonce, Cause-body, explained, n DUMBNESS of Speech,"sensos, mind; knowledge distiu. guished and defined, Desires of men illustrated Doubts are the source of fickleness, Desire of finding out preceptor H 49 ... 4 How attachment for worldy 5 objects is begotten? How healthy and unhealthy 13 thoughts affect a man? How phenomena are pro- 17 duced 11 a 88 ...

·II INDEX. رولا "We .. ... 32 I P.-Continued. is INDIFFERENCE and ollier Part IV. On the means of means of Self-knowledge 8 knowledge of Brahma, Tgnorance, sorts of, 22 Part V. On the nature of Jswara's creation, mention of... 36 self and the world, .... Indifference result of 20-54 Part VI. On the unreality, Intelligenoe, of Iswara, ctc., of the world, 76 of Jiva parviscient, ... 57 Part VII. Pupil disclosing Indications of words exthe benefits of instrucplained, 57-58 tion, 81 Indicated signification of Part VIII. Guru examines words discussed, 64 the pupil, 93 K Q KNOWLEDGE of Brahma, an QUALIFIED person, the, 3-55 invaluable wealth, 46 Qualitics of the wise, M R MEANS of knowledge of Self REFLECTED shadow of intelset forth by the professor,... 42 ligence is read, everything N else unreal, 72 S NECESSITY for the definition of a Commentary; SIIEATIIS, five in number, dis- Non-duality, the result of cussed and explained, hearing the Vedanta Spiritual misery, explained, 23 with the help of the six Self-knowledge as siiprenie ineans of knowledge illuskuowledge, 46 trated, 55-56 Supreme felicity, 47 Nature consideration Secondary menning of words “ Manana" 60-61 explained, 64-65 P Site of enjoyments and subjects of the senses, 71 PUPIL's address to his Gurli,... 10 Self-knowledge, necessity of, 73 Pure Brahma, means of Self, shown as distinct from knowledge of, 42 the subtle body, 86 Proofs of absence of happi. Self is not the physical body, ... 87 ness in worldly objects, Pussionate men feed upon U worldly enjoyments, 50 Primary meaning of words UNSTEJDINESS of mind, explainen, 64 Unreality of the world, Part I Valedictory, illustrated, 76-78 1 V II. On the desire of finding out a wise person, 17 VALEDICTORY Stanza, 1 quert III. On the qualities of Varieties of intercourse a wise man, 32 with women, 41-13 ܢܚܙ of 50 14 ·INDEX, NI1 TV Dicany W..Continued. We are the of Want of Lappiness in all huowledge of the Pure worldly objects philosoassociated Brahma ? 41 phically explained, 50-52 With it source of afilic- Who is the qualified person 55 ), 46-47 Whose property virtue and dy the world is to be the rest are ? 65 ibanoned ? reasous giren,... 48 Word what it is ? 26-67-69. ... ?

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·127, MUSJIDBARI STREET, Calcutta, 1st Jaunary, 1886. DHOLE'S VEDANTA SERIES, . K The VEDANTASARA Of PARAMAANSA SADANANDA JOGINDRA,--with the Commentary of Nrishingha Sarasvati, in Sanskrit, and with Hindi, Bengali and English Translations. Price Rs.6-4. Post free to any part of India. Ditto only in English Rs. 3. Postage 1 anna. Ditto in Sanscrit and Bengali Rs. 2. Postage 1 anna. Ditto in Hindi Ne. 1. Postage 1 anna. This work estallishes the Non-Duality of the Soul and the Brahmit, and is the Master-Key for attaining Nirvana by the destruction of Ijuna (A-knowledge). The Irya of Lahore thus speaks of the work in its May nunber of 1883: The work before us is a tri-lingual translation, together with the original of the Sanskrit work of the above name. The merits of these several tran. slations are undoubtedly great. The Bengali rendering is that of Pundit Kalibur Vedantabagish, the Hindi has been done by the wellknown Sanskrit Scholar Lady Rama Bai while the English is the work of the Editor [N. D.] himself. The book contains also a Preface and an Introductory Essay on Matter and Spirit. The work is a proof of the indefatiguable zeal and industry of Babu Heeralal Dhole, whose English rendering alone is such as is sure to com. mand a very wide circulation for the book." The Philosophic Inquirer of Madras remarks thus in its issue of the 16th July 1883 : " It is a bi lingnal (tri-lingual) translation of the Vedantasara or the Essence of the Vedanta Philosophy of Paramhınsa Sudanandu Jogindril. Tho English reudering of it is from the erudite and scholarly pen of our friend. Dr. Nandalal Dhole, Late Surgeon to the Oourts of Khetree and Marwar.* We e may make bold to asset that the translation appears to us to be one which throwa ch credit on the translntor because of its ·[ 2 ] 1) simplicity and perspicacity of style. In cases where the text is obscured by the technicalities peculiar to the subject, the translator has given ample annotations at foot of each page explaining te terms and contexts, so as to enable the student of Vedantism understand the subject without any external aid, and also in via to make the translation itself lucid and unmistakable, The translator appears to us to have acquitted himself well, and from the way in which lie has done his work, there can be no doubt that he has mastered the subject he lias undertaken to handle, in a way profitable to others also." Indian Nation in speaking of the work in its issue of the 3rd September 1883 says :- " It gives the Sanskrit text, and translations in Hindi, Bengali and English. The Sanskrit text is largely any,tated. There is also a very learned, philosophical dissertation on the doctrines of the Vedantasara and corresponding European systems. The book is well yot up; and a better edition would hardly be desired." The Theosophist in reviewing the work thus remarks in its September number 1883:- “The views,-at any rate in its first English part,-being avowedly those expressed in the columns of our magazine, very little has to be said of this portion, except that the author has inailo uncommon good use of it and elaborated very cleverly the whole: One point, however, may be noticed, as it is found to be constantly voutradioted and picked loles into, by the theists as well as by all the supporters of independent creation--viz., the definition of matter. Kapila defines - matter to bo eternal and co-existent with. Spirit. It was never in a state of non-being but always in stato constant change, it is subtle and sentient," &c. &c., (P. 2.)' “This is what the Ellitor of this Journal has all along maintained and onn bardly repent too often. The article : "What is Matter and what is Force ?" in the Theosophist for September 1882, is sufficiently lucid in reference to this question. It is at the same time pleasant to find that learned friend and brother, Mr. T. Subba Rao Garu, the great Adwaitee sebolur, shares entirely with all of us these views, which every intutional scholar who pomprehends the true spirit oi the Sankhn Philosophy, will ever niaintain. This mny be proved by the Jerusal of a recent work 66 Our ·[ 3 ] on Yoga Pinilosophy" by the lenrned Sanskritist, Dr. Rajendra Lala Mittra, the Introduction to which has just appearod, showing clqarly low every genuine scholar coinprcheuds the Sankhya in the se spirit as we do. The ONE LIFE of the Buddhists, or the abrahm of the Vedantius, is omnipresent and eternal. Spirit and Matter are but its manifestations. As the energising force- Purush of Kapila-it is Spirit-us undifferentiated cosmic inatter it is Mulaprukriti. As differentiated cosmic matter, the basis of phenomenal evolution, it is Prakriti. In its aspect of being the field of cosmic ideation, it is Chidakusam ; as the germ of cosmic ideation it is Chinmatra ; while in its characteristic of perception it is Brugua. Whoever presumes to deny these points denies the main basis of Hindu Philosophy and clings but to its exotoric, weather-beaten, fast fading out shell. The main point of the work iinder review scems to be to indicate how in this basic doctrine, upon which the wholo structure of pbilosophy rests, both the Aryan ind Arhat tenets meet and are identical, in all, except in forms of expression, and how again Kapila's Sanakya supports it. The tuthor has in this respect admirably succeeded in condensing the whole spirit of the philosophy in a few short paurs. And a close study of the same is sufficient to bring the intelligent reader to the same sense of perception. For u superficial reader, Dr. N. Dhole, the English translator, secms to hold that Spirit is something quite apart and distinct from Mattor, and quite, a different substanco or no-substance, if you please. But such readers can only be referred to the following extract :- .. And stinse the recognition of this First Principal, call it Prakrita, Purush, Farabrahmt, or Matter, Spirit, the Absolute, or the Unknowable clothes not with the cherished ideas of the inost inveterate Freethinker... “The above passages clearly prove that like all true Adwaitees the learned Doctor holds Spirit and Matter to be but different phase or aspects of the One Life which is every thing or no nothing, if you prefer. It would be a pretinent question to ask, how it is then that the author expresses himself a Dualist ! The simple explanation will be found in the consideration that so far as the phenomenal, or the manifested world is concerneil, the idea of Duality is la inched into the discussion to indicate the two aspects of the one cternal whole, which together set the machinery of ·evolution into working order. But once turn from the manifested into the noumenal, the unmanifested Life and the erudite author will most probably cease to call himself a dualist, as is mado vozy clear from the above quoted extract from his work, It is reedless to say again that every student of Adwaitism ought to possess himself of a copy of the work under review." The Purusharthapahtaini reviews the work as follows in its issue of December 1883:- We have to acknowledge with thanks “ the Vedantasara.” It is a Manual of Advita Philosophy of Paramahansa Sadananda Jogindra with an Introductory Memoir on Matter and Spirit. It is very ably prefaced by the Editor, Mr. Heernlal Dhole whose learned and patriotic spirit longs to see the revival of the once glorious spiritual or religious advancement of our Aryan nation. The Memoir and the English Translation of the Original Sapscrit Text by Dr. Nandalal Dhole, late Surgeon to the Courts of Khetree and Marwar, with copious annotations do justice to bis ripe erudition. Kapila Maha Muni, the first Prince of Yoga Philosophy, bas his masterly views expounded in the Memoir. The Book is a Treasure of thio Aryan Spiritual Philosophy and is to be in the possession of every enlightened gentleman. THE PANCHADASI, or an Encyclopedia of Spiritual Training of VIDYARANASWAMI. Whatever the Aryan Philosophy says concerning the Atma (Soul) and Parabrahma (Absolute) has been fully and olnborately discussed in the present work with critical notices of the other contending systems, This work is being issued in monthly parts. Aunual subscription for the English Badition Rs. 6 in India ; Hs. 7 in Ceylon, Straits Settlements, Ohina Japan, ann Australia ; 14 shillings in Africa, Europe, and U. 8. America. Single copy Re. 1. Dr. Nundalal Dhole is in charge of the English Translation. Annual subscriptiou for the Bengali Edition Rs. 3. Post free to any part of India. Or 5 As. for a single number. Pundit Kalibur Vedantabagish has been entrusted with the charge of this section. Iutending subscribers will be good enough to communicate with the undersigned to whom all remittances should be made payablo strictly in advanoe.

·[ 5'] The Indian Selectar thus writes in acknowledging the recoipt of the first part in its June number, 1884:- We acknowledge with thanks the first uumber of the second olume of the Vedanta series, tho Panchadasi. It is intended to be sued in monthly parts, translated with copious annotations, by Ar. Nandalal Dhole, L. M. S., the same gentleman who translated the Vedantasara. The publisher deserves credit for giving to the public the fecility by supplying them with the ancient Hindu literature in cheap form. The pamphlet is handy, and neatly printed.- The Aryd of Lahore says in its issue of August, 1884:- Mr. Nandalal Duole, L. M. 8., translator of the Vedantasaru and the Publisher of his works, --Mr. Hceralal Dhole are doubtless engaged in the laudable work of supplying the world with English Translations of the Aryan Philosophio and spiritual literature. Iland Book of IlinilA Pantheism, the Panchallusi with copious annotations which is being issued in monthly parts, was recoived in our office during the last month. In it we find many valuable things deserving of a careful study by the votaries of Occult science, and though disagreeing in several points therein advanced, we still recommend the work to the public for patronage. The Theosophist of August, 1884, writes as follows The work purposes to discuss "fully and elaborately," whatever the Aryan Philosopby" says “concerning the Atma (Soul) and l'aradrahma (Absolute)," with "critical notices of the other contending systems." If we may judge from the contents of the number under notice, the authors evidently are for the Adwaita doctrine of Srimat Sankaracharya. The arguinents agaiust the opponents of that systom are undoubtedly strong. The publication of the book under review. is likely to do good, and we would recommnd it to all who may be interested in a study of the Aryan Philosophy. The Philosophic Inquirer of Madras in its issue of 3rd August, 1884 :- If there is a couutry in which the highest truths of philosophy were taught to the earliest man, it was own country-India, the cradle of philosophy, which many a great intellect of our land delighted in, it was the Pantheistic phase of our Vedantic philosophy; if there is a philosophy, which while being most highly intellectual and sentimental, gan at best satisfy the human instincts, it our ·[ 6 ] is, we venture to say, whithout fear of contradiction, Pantheism proper sprung in India. Any interpretation of such a philosophy faithful in its entirety must be welcome to all thinking minds; the undertaking therefore of our eminent contributor N.D. to translan the Panchadasi with annotations is laudable in every respect indeed and on perumal of the two issues of the above translation to band, we have been able to find therein a clear, aud systematic exposition of Vedantism to the extent executed. We cordially invito the attention of all our friends and readers to this very useful publication of the translator of the Vedantasara, and hope that it will meet with a large support from the educated section of our countrymen, the kind of support which it deserves. THE VICHASAGAR or The Metaphysics of the Upanishads, translated into English from the Bhala of Pandit Nischal Dasjee by Lala Sree Ranı Sahib, Pleader, Delhi Courts, Price Rs. 6-8. The Punjab Herald and Delhi Advertiser of Delhi thus notices the work in its issue of the 14th March, 1885 :- We have to acknowledge, with many thanks, the receipt of a copy of a translation of the Vicharsagar-the Metaphysics of the Upanishads—a subject which has seriously engaged the attention of Jiterary minds in India for many years now. The translator is Lala Sri Ram, a Pleader of the Delhi Courts, for many years a Tahsildar in the service of our Government, and the result of his efforts is a bulky volume of 500 pages embracing dissertations on " Cosmogony, Psychology, Evolution, Yoga and Emancipation. It is a complete clue for the comprehension of the Science of Man, his relation to the Universe, and his ultimate destiny. It clears out the mistaken notion concerning Iswara and Parabrahma, and reviews Theism & Pantheism in all aspects. In short, a key to ESOTERIO SCIENCE it is exhaustive." It is hardly necessary to say that to review so comprehensive a work would require much careful study ; 80 we must defer our judgment on the book until we have been able somewhat to master its details. That it is a valuable contribution to the Indian literature of the day is undeniable, and ve trust that the hope of the author will be fully realised, and that the work will “ tend to increase the national spirituality" and that it will be the means of inviting the active sympathies of our young men, and old, and stimulate them to study our angient writings and the faith they inculcate," and that it will AS ·17' "ston the tide of materialism and supplant it with the noble and high aspirations which non-duality teaches," and it “will suppress bad karma and incite the good of our fellow-creatures:” The work i dedicated “by permission to Sir Charles Aitchison, K.C.S.I., I.E., L.L.D., Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab and its Dependencies, for high Christian morality, thorough conscientiousness, never-ceasing anxiety for the welfare of the people he rules over, and his appreciation of our ancient learning and philosophy, and in grateful remembrance of a life-long service under Government, by his most obedient and dutiful servant Sree Ram, Tahsildar of Delhi (retired) now Pleader of the Delhi Courts." The Tribune of Lahore thus speaks of the work :- Lala Sri Ram, one of the most respectable members of the Delhi bar has recently brought out a translation of the « Vichar Sagar"-a treatise on the Philosophy of the Vedanta. Its author was Pundit Nischal Das, a native of the village of Kehrowli in the District of Rohtak. He belonged to the Dadupanthi sect. He lived within the memory of man and there are men still alivo at Delhi who bear some recollections of the sage. Though a learned Sanskrit scholar, Pundit Nischal Das departed from the rule generally observed in his days, and wrote his work in Hindi to bring his subject within the comprehension of the uninitiated, or as he said “I speak in verwacular for them who are dull in intellect." The treatise is an original compendium of the Vedanta philosophy designed to impart to those not read in Sanskrit an accurate and comprehensive insight into that system of enquiry and belief. It gives unquestionable eridenco of the author's learning and of his mastery uſ the subject he deals fith, and shews that he took much pains to elucidate doctrines which are not often plain even to the erudite and thoughtful. The book is held in much esteem among the Pundits of the neighboůrhood, *and Lala Sri Ram has done a marked service in giving it to the world in an English garb. He has been induced mainly by philanthropic motives to publish his English rendering of the work, He regards with much satisfaction the revival of our ancient learning for which he thanks Madamo Blavatsky, Col. Olcott, Swami Dayanund and others, and observes-- "If the present work would tend to increase the national spirituality and if it would be the means of inviting the active sympathies of our young men and old, and stimulate them to study our ancient ·[ 8 ] writings and the faith they inculcate, if it would sten the tide of materialism and supplant it with the noble and high aspirations which Non-duality teaches, if it will suppress bad karma and incite the good of our follow.crentures, we would think ourselves high gratified and amply repaid. It cannot be insisted too often the a nation without spirituality is on the road to ruin and self-des truction." Sagacious words are these wbich every lover of his country would do well to ponder over and discuss. A nation of epicures has never been known to be great, and it is a duty which our educated meu owe to themselves and their country to stem the tido of materialism that has been threatening us, and to plant the foundations of their national advancement on the more durable basis of self-abnegation and a pure system of ethics and faith. The work before us treats on some of the abstrusest problem that ever engaged the attention of man. The principle of Nonduality, of ekaneva-dvitiyan, of the identity of self with the Parabramhn, and various other connected topics' offer ample food for reflection evon to the most cultured intellects. It cannot be expected that all will ngree with what the author has argued out with much perspicuity and force of expression, but nothing can be a greater mistake than to start with the preconceived notion that the doctrine of the Pantheists must necessarily be wrong. Let the enquirer dive deep into the great argument and try to pick up what gems ho тау find in it. Even among those who canuot find, many will be none the worse but considerably better for the diligent search. It cannot be said that the book is altogether free from obsourities. The translator hins, however, endeavoured his best to facilitate its study by inserting a copious introduotion extending over 28 pages, and loy giving valuable fuot notes which throw much light on the subject. The renderiug has been felicitous. There are slight inaconracies here and there, but they cannot be said to affect the merit of the translation as a whole. The get up also is good . And does credit to the publisher. The book should be widely read. Wo have been giving its advertisement in another column to which we draw the attention of the reader, It gives all the required particulars about the book. In conclusion, we express our satisfaotiou to find that Sir Charles Aitchison has allowed it to be dedicated to him. This little incident shews His Honor's appreciatiou of our anoient learning and philosophy.

·[9] 0 The Arya of Lalore reriows the work as follows Although we are far from admitting the general position that popular favor is the criterion of merit, yet we do assert that when, wi dont puſing or advertising a book rises into popularity, and linnes for years to afford delight and satisfaction to a considerable class of men--a book read and adınired by huudreds of Sudus of tho Veflanta School-we do assert that such a book must possess merit of no ordinary kind. To the work before us this reasoning is peculiarly applicable. In the outlying districts of the Punjab cvery Vedanti Sadu, v !o knows to read and write, receives instruction which cannot be otherwiso had, unless a large number of original works diflicult to understand, and requiring the life-time of au individual, are gone through. The work extends over 401 pages, and is a translation from the Hindi, the originai production of Pundit Nischal Das, a native of the village of Kehrowli in the district of Rohtack. It comprises Vedanta philosophy as understood by the non-dualists. We admire the grand simplicity of our Translator who does not tire us with tedious digressione, but comes at once to the subject matter and presents his reader with a pith of the whole within a small compass of his Introduction. The English rendering throughout the work is croditable to the Translator, and the general got up by the publisher deserves praise. The Philosophic Inquirer of Madras remarks in its issus of the 17th May, 1885 :- The abovo work althoughi has been lying on our table for some weeks for review in those columns, yet it being of the kind of books, not increly to be tasted, but to be chewed and disgested too to a large extent, it has had perforce to demand a close study on our part that we may rentare to express au opinion on it. The work in question, the learned and patirotic translator bimself informs us, appearod originally in Bhakha,' on the science of man, including dissertations in Cosmogony, Psychology, Evolution, Yoga and Emancipation, and adds, " The Bhakha original is considered a work of great authority and one entitled to great respect by competent authoritics." Ju coufrmation of this statement the philosophical Arya Magazine remarks . it is a book read and admired by hundred of Sadlus of the Vedanta School and possessing no ordinary werit.'

·[ 10 ] During the last decade much has been said and written on abstruso psychological subject, and the learned translator has therefore chosen pertaps the very best opportunity of presenting in English garb such a great work to the enlightoned public. The work camprises 404 pages, and indeed embodies a mass of instruction why cannot otherwise be bad unloss a large number of original won difficult to understand, and sequiring the life-time of an indiyidual, are gone through. Such a work ought to be read by one and all of the thicking portion of Aryavartha, and the translator deserves all possible encouragement at the hands of the Indian public. ' The work opens with a fine portrait and preface of the translator's followed by an admirable introduction which we surmise is from the learned and very able pen of Dr. N. Dhole--Mr. Siunett's Reviewer. The English version throughout the work is simply commendable, and the publisher Babu Heera Lal Dhole deserves much credit for his excellent printing and the general got up of the book. The "Vicharsagar" advocates nondualistic or pantheistic philosophy as taught by the Upanishads. In the elegant and very modest preface to the work the translator truly observes :- " No philosophy can be taken up like a romance, or a book of trarel; it requires deep thinking, and constant reading, with patience and tranquility of mind. The times we live in are extremely auspicious for works like the preseut. Thanks to the late Swamy Dayanand Saraswati and other allumini, there is an increasing activity noticeable everywhere for a study of our Shastras and what they teach. The impulse to this novel movement received no mean help from the Theosophical Society The noble and self-sacrificing career of 'ladame Blavatsky and Colouel, Olcott for regenerating our ancient literature and faith, deserves the highest encomium everywhere. Had it not been fd their example and cooperation it would have taken several lengthened periods before the revival of things as they are, could have been accomplished.” ON THD ROAD TO SELF KNOWLEDGE being the text of ATMA BODI, PARAMARTHASARA, AND HASTAMALAK, translated from the original Sanskrit into English by Babu Amritalal Basu. Price 13 annas only This work is admirably suited for beginners. Srimat Şankaracharya has fully and elaborately expounded his doctrine of nonduality in this book, ·( 11 ) VICILARMALA, translated into English by Lala Sri Ram Sahib trauslator of the Vicharsagar. Price Rs. 2 only. It is the best book of its kind, and an easy compendium of the Veanta Philosophy. Siva SANIIITA, or the Esoteric Science and Philosophy of the witras translated from the original Sanskrit with notes, illustrations and Diagrams to elucidate the text, together with a preliminary discourse on Yoga Philosophy by Babu Srish Chunder Vasu B. A., F. T. S., Vakeel, High Court, N. W. P. Editor Sabhapathy's Vedanta Raj Yoga Philosophy, &c., Price Rs. 2-8. This work treats of Evolution, Cosmogony, and Yoga đc. c. dc. All these work can be had of the publisher. HEERALAL DHOLE. 127, MUSJID BARI STREET. - Calcutta.

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