SIDDHA GITA FROM YOGA VASISHTHA
Humble salutations to the Great Masters of all Ages!
Sri: Salutations to that Reality which inheres as the Self in all, from which all the creations are projected, in which they have their
being and into which they are finally dissolved! Salutations to that Intelligence which inheres as the Self in all, from which the
knower, knowledge and the known, the seer, sight and the seen, the doer, cause and deed, are manifested! Salutations to that
Supreme Bliss which inheres as the Self in all, which constitutes the life of all and from whose unfathomable depths happiness is
sprayed as fine particles in Heaven or on Earth (where on the sum-total of happiness is not equal to a particle of that unalloyed,
natural Bliss). The Siddhas (invisible and immortal beings of the noblest order) proclaimed.
1. We adore that One which remains unfalteringly fixed, steady and eternal, which will not therefore admit of recurring births and
deaths nor undergo modifications as this and that, and which is by unerring contemplation realised as one’s own Self, from which
certainly proceeds the chain of links of successive particles of happiness, seemingly derived from and wrongly associated with
enjoyments, which are in their turn mere phenomena (viz., the ego and the world, or subject and object) reflected as images on the
non-dual, unique and abstract consciousness, because they are found on rightly discriminating investigation to merge into the
Absolute Self.
Some other Siddhas bring it nearer home as follows:
2. We adore That which is realised as the Self originating, and yet remaining as the untainted witness of the birth of the Ego, its
thoughts and the world around – by transcending the cogniser, cognition and the cognised objects pertaining to the wakeful and
dream states as well as the ignorance pertaining to dreamless slumber and made up of the latent tendencies of the mind.
Some other Siddhas:
3. We adore That which is realised as the Light inhering as the Self and illumining all, abiding always as the Consciousness in the
believer and the non-believer alike, – before creation and after dissolution of the Cosmos and is between them too – and lying hidden
even in the successive links ceaselessly formulated as the original sources but rendered abortive by one conscious Self objectifying
another in itself.
Note. – Sloka 2 says the Reality is realised after eliminating all the triads. Some deny the same. There must be some conscious
self to deny it. Again, if the original cause of creation be imagined to be as transient as the present creation, the enduring reality
beyond the successive links cannot be denied. Or again, if a material cause be surmised, the efficient cause cannot be overlooked.
The latter is imagined by the Self. The Self must be the ultimate reality.
4. We adore the Self as That in which all the worlds are fixed, of which they are, from which they emerge, for which they exist, by
which all these are projected and for which they are in their being.
5. We adore the Self which shines formless as unbroken ‘I-I’ consciousness which transcends the ego, yet comprising all the Egos
and entire knowledge. These after all make up the whole Cosmos.
6. Those who, ignoring the Lord of the Heart, go about seeking other gods, are like the fool who throws away from his hand the
celestial gem (kaustubha) which fulfils all the desires of the possessor, and who then excavates the Earth in search of jewels.
Some Siddhas counsel Dispassion as follows:
7. The Lord of the Heart, who roots out the vigorously growing creeper bearing poisonous fruits of desires is gained after discarding
everything as worthless.
8. That fool who, being aware of the evils of enjoyments, still runs after them, must not be deemed a man but be put down for an
ass. (The male ass runs after the female, even though kicked by her.)
9. The serpents under the cover of the senses must forcibly be laid, as often as they raise their hoods and hiss for prey, like
mountains mercilessly hit by the thunderbolt of Indra (the God of rain, thunder and lightning).
The other Siddhas hit on the cardinal points as follows:
10. Acquire the bliss of peace by reining in the senses and stilling the mind. The mind does not, in its womb, hold seeds of pain as
sensual pleasures do, but purges itself of impurities because it merges in its source as fire does when not fed with fuel. On the mind
becoming still and disappearing into the primal source of bliss, there arises the Supreme Peace which holds out till final
emancipation.
Chapter 1
O people, turn away from sensual enjoyments and betake yourselves to contemplating your own selves (rather the Self), because
sensual enjoyments end only in misery. What is meant by the Self? By Self is meant Consciousness as shown by the Mahaa
Vaakya, ‘Prajnaanam Brahma.’ The Prajnaanam (Consciousness) must be worshipped. Here worship does not mean external or
ritual worship. What is it then? To be unshakingly fixed in the intuition ‘I am Brahman’ in accordance with the Sutra, ‘the state
intuited as I’. Objection: It is in other words to annihilate the body and its associates. Answer: Rather it is, ‘Contemplate
Consciousness to the exclusion of objects illumined by it.’ Question: How? Answer: It means all objects being illumined by
Consciousness do not exist on their own merit. They are only fancied to be, like the horns of a hare. Question: If non-existent like
the hare’s horns, how do they appear to view at all? Answer: Only Consciousness shines forth and no other. Question: If there is
only Chit and nothing beside, how does it shine forth as body etc.? Answer: It is like images in a mirror. The real significance of the
Agamas (the tantric texts) is this:
Consciousness is truly the Self (Subjective Reality) because it cannot be referred to by the word ‘this’. The non-self alone can thus
be referred to. Only that can be Self (Subjective Reality) which itself being one, runs continuously through the realms of old
recollections and ever-new thoughts. Being pure Consciousness by nature it cannot admit of differentiation and is the same whether
in gods, asuras or men etc. There cannot be the least doubt that time and space are not different from it since they remain
immersed in it (that is, they cannot be conceived in the absence of Consciousness) and out of it they are non-existent like a hare’s
horn (that is, not existent).
Parama Siva spoken of in the Sastras is just this unbroken, uniform Consciousness, the Self. His own power known as Maya which
can make the impossible possible, hiding her real identity and manifesting her impurity as avidyaa (ignorance), produces duality. Of
this duality the perceptible (drisyam) has not its origin in Siva, like a sprout in its seed; nor is it a modification (parinaama) because
the material forming it is not continuous in its source, like clay in utensils of clay; nor is it a super-imposition (vivarta) like a snake
on a place of rope because the duality of the perceiver and the perceived (is not acceptable). What then? Just as a mirror remaining
unaffected presents within itself pictures owing to its clarity. so also Chit presents by its own power the objects illumined by itself
within itself. Nor should the doubt arise that just as a mirror requires corresponding external objects for reflection in itself, there must
be an external world to correspond to the reflection in Chit. For, the external object does not form the material for its reflection but
only effects it, like the wheel and the stick being the effective causes for producing a pot. The accessories are variable because the
wheel is rotated by hand. Similarly it is not improper to consider Maayaa, Chit’s own power, to be the effective cause for producing
the perceptible (jagat) in Chit. No other explanation but that of reflection fits in for appearance of the perceptible in Chit. There cannot
be an object external to Consciousness for it cannot be illumined (in order to be reflected). Nor does the world appear owing to its
relation to Chit because this will lead to regressus ad infinitium. Also even in the absence of Chit the world must always be evident
or not evident. All well-known objections have thus been refuted. For details consult Pratyabhijnaa etc. Therefore this doctrine of
reflection alone is valid.
