Chapter 1 - Questions relating to the
Liberation of Beings
THE enchanting summit of the Lord of Mountains, resplendent with all
its various jewels, clad with many a tree and many a creeper, melodious
with the song of many a bird, scented with the fragrance of all the
season’s flowers, most beautiful, fanned by soft, cool, and perfumed
breezes, shadowed by the still shade of stately trees; where cool groves
resound with the sweet-voiced songs of troops of Apsara, and in the forest
depths flocks of kokila maddened with passion sing; where (Spring) Lord of
the Seasons with his followers ever abide (the Lord of Mountains, Kailasa);
peopled by (troops of) Siddha, Charana, Gandharva, and Ganapatya (1-5). It
was there that Parvati, finding Shiva, Her gracious Lord, in mood serene,
with obeisance bent low and for the benefit of all the worlds questioned
Him, the Silent Deva, Lord of all things movable and immovable, the ever
Beneficent and ever Blissful One, the nectar of Whose mercy abounds as a
great ocean, Whose very essence is the Pure Sattva Guna, He Who is white
as camphor and the Jasmine flower, the Omnipresent One, Whose raiment is
space itself, Lord of the poor and the beloved Master of all yogi, Whose
coiled and matted hair is wet with the spray of Ganga and (of Whose naked
body) ashes are the adornment only; the passionless One, Whose neck is
garlanded with snakes and skulls of men, the three-eyed One, Lord of the
three worlds, with one hand wielding the trident and with the other
bestowing blessings; easily appeased, Whose very substance is
unconditioned Knowledge; the Bestower of eternal emancipation, the
Ever-existent, Fearless, Changeless, Stainless, One without defect, the
Benefactor of all, and the Deva of all Devas (5-10).
Shri Parvati said:
O Deva of the Devas, Lord of the world, Jewel of Mercy, my Husband,
Thou art my Lord, on Whom I am ever dependent and to Whom I am ever
obedient. Nor can I say ought without Thy word. If Thou hast affection for
me, I crave to lay before Thee that which passeth in my mind. Who else but
Thee, O Great Lord, in the three worlds is able to solve these doubts of
mine, Thou Who knowest all and all the Scriptures (11-13).
Shri Sadashiva said:
What is that Thou sayest, O Thou Great Wise One and Beloved of My
heart, I will tell Thee anything, be it ever so bound in mystery, even
that which should not be spoken of before Ganesha and Skanda Commander of
the Hosts of Heaven. What is there in all the three worlds which should be
concealed from Thee? For Thou, O Devi, art My very Self. There is no
difference between Me and Thee. Thou too art omnipresent. What is it then
that Thou knowest not that Thou questionest like unto one who knoweth
nothing (14-16).
The pure Parvati, gladdened at hearing the words of the Deva, bending
low made obeisance and thus questioned Shangkara.
Shri Adya said:
O Bhagavan! Lord of all, Greatest among those who are versed in
Dharmma, Thou in former ages in Thy mercy didst through Brahma reveal the
four Vedas which are the propagators of all dharmma and which ordain the
rules of life for all the varying castes of men and for the different
stages of their lives (18-19). In the First Age, men by the practice of
yaga and yajna prescribed by Thee were virtuous and pleasing to Devas and
Pitris (20). By the study of the Vedas, dhyana and tapas, and the conquest
of the senses, by acts of mercy and charity men were of exceeding power
and courage, strength and vigour, adherents of the true Dharmma, wise and
truthful and of firm resolve, and, mortals though they were, they were yet
like Devas and went to the abode of the Devas (21, 22). Kings then were
faithful to their engagements and were ever concerned with the protection
of their people, upon whose wives they were wont to look as if upon their
mothers, and whose children they regarded as their very own (23). The
people, too, did then look upon a neighbour’s property as if it were mere
lumps of clay, and, with devotion to their Dharmma, kept to the path of
righteousness (24). There were then no liars, none who were selfish,
thievish, malicious, foolish, none who were evil-minded, envious,
wrathful, gluttonous, or lustful, but all were good of heart and of ever
blissful mind. Land then yielded in plenty all kinds of grain, clouds
showered seasonable rains, cows gave abundant milk, and trees were
weighted with fruits (25-27). No untimely death there was, nor famine nor
sickness. Men were ever cheerful, prosperous, and healthy, and endowed
with all qualities of beauty and brilliance. Women were chaste and devoted
to their husbands. Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras kept to
and followed the customs, Dharmma, yajna, of their respective castes, and
attained the final liberation (28-29).
After the Krita Age had passed away Thou didst in the Treta Age
perceive Dharmma to be in disorder, and that men were no longer able by
Vedic rites to accomplish their desires. For men, through their anxiety
and perplexity, were unable to perform these rites in which much trouble
had to be overcome, and for which much preparation had to be made. In
constant distress of mind they were neither able to perform nor yet were
willing to abandon the rites.
Having observed this, Thou didst make known on earth the Scripture in
the form of Smriti, which explains the meaning of the Vedas, and thus
delivered from sin, which is cause of all pain, sorrow, and sickness, men
too feeble for the practice of tapas and the study of the Vedas. For men
in this terrible ocean of the world, who is there but Thee to be their
Cherisher, Protector, Saviour, their fatherly Benefactor, and Lord?
(30-33).
Then, in the Dvapara Age when men abandoned the good works prescribed
in the Smritis, and were deprived of one half of Dharmma and were
afflicted by ills of mind and body, they were yet again saved by Thee,
through the instructions of the Sanghita and other religious lore (34-36).
Now the sinful Kali Age is upon them, when Dharmma is destroyed, an Age
full of evil customs and deceit. Men pursue evil ways. The Vedas have lost
their power, the Smritis are forgotten, and many of the Puranas, which
contain stories of the past, and show the many ways (which lead to
liberation), will, O Lord! be destroyed. Men will become averse from
religious rites, without restraint, maddened with pride, ever given over
to sinful acts, lustful, gluttonous, cruel. heartless, harsh of speech,
deceitful, short-lived, poverty-stricken, harassed by sickness and sorrow,
ugly, feeble, low, stupid, mean, and addicted to mean habits, companions
of the base, thievish, calumnious, malicious, quarrelsome, depraved,
cowards, and ever-ailing, devoid of all sense of shame and sin and of fear
to seduce the wives of others. Vipras will live like the Shudras, and
whilst neglecting their own Sandhya will yet officiate at the sacrifices
of the low. They will be greedy, given over to wicked and sinful acts,
liars, insolent, ignorant, deceitful, mere hangers-on of others, the
sellers of their daughters, degraded, averse to all tapas and vrata. They
will be heretics, impostors, and think themselves wise. They will be
without faith or devotion, and will do japa and puja with no other end
than to dupe the people. They will eat unclean food and follow evil
customs, they will serve and eat the food of the Shudras and lust after
low women, and will be wicked and ready to barter for money even their own
wives to the low. In short, the only sign that they are Brahmanas will be
the thread they wear. Observing no rule in eating or drinking or in
other matters, scoffing at the Dharmma Scriptures, no thought of pious
speech ever so much as entering their minds, they will be but bent upon
the injury of the good (37-50).
By Thee also have been composed for the good and liberation of men the
Tantras, a mass of Agamas and Nigamas, which bestow both enjoyment and
liberation, containing Mantras and Yantras and rules as to the sadhana of
both Devis and Devas. By Thee, too, have been described many forms of
Nyasa, such as those called srishti, sthiti (and sanghara). By
Thee, again, have been described the various seated positions (of yoga),
such as that of the "tied" and "loosened" lotus, the Pashu, Vira, and
Divya classes of men, as also the Devata, who gives success in the use of
each of the mantras (50-52). And yet again it is Thou Who hast made known
in a thousand ways rites relating to the worship with woman, and the rites
which are done with the use of skulls, a corpse, or when seated on a
funeral pyre (53). By Thee, too, have been forbidden both pashu-bhava and
divya-bhava. If in this Age the pashu-bhava cannot exist, how can there be
divya-bhava? (54). For the pashu must with his own hand collect leaves,
flowers, fruits, and water, and should not look at a Shudra or even think
of a woman (55). On the other hand, the Divya is all but a Deva, ever pure
of heart, and to whom all opposites are alike, free from attachment to
worldly things, the same to all creatures and forgiving (56). How can men
with the taint of this Age upon them, who are ever of restless mind, prone
to sleep and sloth, attain to purity of disposition? (57). By Thee, too,
have been spoken the rites of Vira-sadhana, relating to the Pancha-tattva
– namely, wine, meat, fish, parched grain, and sexual union of man and
woman (58-59). But since the men of the Kali Age are full of greed, lust,
gluttony, they will on that account neglect sidhana and will fall into
sin, and having drunk much wine for the sake of the pleasure of the
senses, will become mad with intoxication, and bereft of all notion of
right and wrong (61). Some will violate the wives of others, others will
become rogues, and some, in the indiscriminating rage of lust, will go
(whoever she be) with any woman (62). Over eating and drinking will
disease many and deprive them of strength and sense. Disordered by
madness, they will meet death, falling into lakes, pits, or in
impenetrable forests, or from hills or house-tops (63-64). While some will
be as mute as corpses, others will be for ever on the chatter, and yet
others will quarrel with their kinsmen and elders. They will be
evil-doers, cruel, and the destroyers of Dharmma (65-66). I fear, O Lord!
that even that which Thou hast ordained for the good of men will through
them turn out for evil (67). O Lord of the World! who will practise Yoga
or Nyasa, who will sing the hymns and draw the Yantra and make
Purashcharana? (68). Under the influences of the Kali Age man will of his
nature become indeed wicked and bound to all manner of sin (69). Say, O
Lord of all the distressed! in Thy mercy how without great pains men may
obtain longevity, health, and energy, increase of strength and courage,
learning, intelligence, and happiness; and how they may become great in
strength and valour, pure of heart, obedient to parents, not seeking the
love of others’ wives, but devoted to their own, mindful of the good of
their neighbour, reverent to the Devas and to their gurus, cherishers of
their children and kinsmen (70-72), possessing the knowledge of the
Brahman, learned in the lore of, and ever meditating on, the Brahman. Say,
O Lord! for the good of the world, what men should or should not do
according to their different castes and stages of life. For who but Thee
is their Protector in all the three worlds? (73-74).
End of the First Joyful Message, entitled "Questions relating to the
Liberation of Beings." |
