12.210
The teacher said.
He who does not know the fourfold Vedas and the principle realized by the supreme sage in both the manifest and unmanifest does not know the supreme dharma.
The manifest is to be understood as the gateway to death, and the unmanifest as the immortal state. The sage Nārāyaṇa declared that dharma is marked by activity.
All the three worlds, with all moving and unmoving beings, are established right here; here too is the dharma characterized by cessation, the unmanifest, the eternal Brahman.
Prajapati then declared: 'The characteristic of dharma is activity. Activity, repetition, cessation, and the supreme state are its aspects.'
The sage whose highest aim is withdrawal, who is always devoted to the essence of knowledge, and who reveals the distinction between auspicious and inauspicious, attains that supreme state.
Thus, these two—the unmanifest and the person—are to be understood; but that which is other and greater than the unmanifest and the person should be known.
The wise person should observe that distinction with discernment; both these marks are without beginning and end, and indeed, both are so.
Both are eternal, subtler and greater than the great; this is their commonality, while the other is their distinction.
By nature, endowed with the property of creation and the threefold essence, one should know the opposite as the characteristic of the knower of the field.
The seer, who is not endowed with guṇas, of prakṛti and its modifications, is not graspable; these two puruṣas, due to the absence of distinguishing marks, are not united.
That which is characterized by the arising from union and is born of action is grasped; by means of instruments and accomplished actions, whatever the agent does is so performed. This is referred to by verbal designations such as: 'Who am I? Who is this? Who is that?'
Just as a person with a turban is covered by three garments, so too is the embodied soul covered by the qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas.
Therefore, the fourfold knowledge should be acquired by these causes; so that this person, being conscious, does not become deluded at the time of death.
One who desires divine prosperity, being pure in speech and mind, should practice sinless austerity through severe bodily restraints.
The three worlds are pervaded by ascetic power, and it is through inner brilliance that the Sun and the Moon shine in the heavens.
The knowledge that is the splendor of austerity is called austerity in the world; the action that destroys passion and darkness is the true mark of austerity.
Celibacy, non-violence, and bodily discipline are called physical austerity. Control of speech and mind, and equanimity are called mental austerity.
Food should be accepted especially from those who know the rules and from the twice-born; by regulating food, the sin of a passionate person is destroyed.
One should take only as much as is needed for the purpose here, for enmity and the instruments that go with it pertain to the matter; therefore, only that much should be taken.
At the end of life, due to old age, one who is not afflicted should act gradually in this way; with a concentrated mind, that knowledge arises.
The embodied soul, influenced by rajas, should act like sound, moving through the world, maintaining an undisturbed mind, acting with dispassion, and remaining established in its own nature. Through vigilance until the end of the body, one is completely liberated.
The process of creation, maintenance, and dissolution of beings is always governed by cause; but in the creation that depends on another's influence, this order is never violated.
Those whose wisdom is at the end and origin of existence, who remain in error; by firmness supporting their bodies, with minds contracted by intellect; as they are destroyed from their places, due to their subtlety, they approach them.
According to tradition, all this is not truly understood by intellect alone. Until the end of the body, a realized soul remains independent. Some, engaged in concentration, worship existence itself.
Those who, at the end of their lives, having approached the supreme divine being whose imperishable form is resounded like lightning, and whose sins have been burnt away by austerity, repeatedly practice (meditation on Him).
All these great souls attain the highest state. Their subtle distinctions should be discerned through the eye of scripture.
But one should recognize the body as the supreme, liberated and free from possessions; with a mind absorbed in concentration, distinct from the intermediate space.
Those whose minds are endowed with knowledge are released from the world of mortals; having become Brahman and free from passion, they then attain the supreme state.
Those in whom unshakable knowledge free from passions arises, having become purified according to their capacity, they attain the highest worlds.
Those pure souls, content with knowledge and free from desires, approach with devotion the divine, unborn Viṣṇu, known as the unmanifest.
Having realized Hari who abides in the self, those imperishable ones do not return. Attaining that supreme abode, they rejoice in the imperishable and unchanging.
This is the extent of knowledge: it both exists and does not exist; the entire world, bound by craving, turns like a wheel.
Just as the thread inside a lotus runs throughout the stalk, so too the endless thread of craving always pervades the body.
Just as a weaver threads a needle through cloth, so too is the thread of worldly existence bound by the needle of desire.
Whoever truly understands modification, primordial nature, and the eternal spirit, becomes free from desire and is liberated.
The blessed sage Nārāyaṇa revealed this immortal teaching out of compassion for all beings, for the welfare of the world.
