How is it, O beloved one, that you now appear radiant with so much beauty, as if your youth had returned to you, as if you had become as it were the prototype of beauty, had quaffed divine nectar and attained the Brahmic seat of eternal, heavenly bliss ? How happens it that your mind is now blessed with tranquillity, devoid of the desire of enjoyment and free from instability ? By what chance do you possess this perfect beauty of both mind and body ? By your purity, I desire you to answer me.
To this Chuddlai vouchsafed the following reply :
“ Having abandoned this universe, which is both rupa and arupa, I attained that mighty and incomparable One which survives the destruction of all things in the uni verse; hence the radiant Tejas in my body. I have cog nised that which is the substratum of all, being the atom of atoms and the homogeneous whole without creation or destruction ; thus arises this radiant Tejas in my form. Though I do not enjoy objects of the senses, yet do I derive happiness therefrom without the pains attendant upon such enjoyment, and therefore love and hatred have.
This corroborates the fact that when one becomes a Brahma- gnani, a Tejas or spiritual glory arises in him, taken farewell of me. I exult through the divine vision (taught of in books) in the company of Jnna, the mistress of the household, who has love and hatred as hand-maidens performing mental duties. Hence do I glory in the posses sion of contentment and bodily beauty. In no way affected by the objects which I perceive by my eyes and through my mind, I realise within myself that Consciousness (Chaitanya) which has not the characteristics of the universe but is un- create. Thus arises my beauty.”
At these words of Chudaldi, her husband the king, with out even trying to probe deeper into her heart, simply smiled at her with a look of derision and addressed her thus: * O damsel with waist like a slender plant, thou hast uttered words which but ill-suit thee. Thou speakest as one who has lost his mental balance. How is it possible for thee, who revellest in the luxuries of regal wealth, to cognise Atma? Even the greatest of men, who, after giving up this paltry universe, have attained that exalted all-pervading principle, have done so only after disconnecting themselves from this visible universe.
How is it, Lady, that thou can st aspire after that which can be directly cognised by the wise only r” Thou can st be said to enjoy it only as those unfortunate per sons do, who not being able to attain that state, profess to have sensed it intuitionally within, and then turn away in sheer disgust. Therefore tell me what thou meanest ? How can persons like thee of the above class be able to realise the fact that they see Atma within. Thou art but a fragile crea ture, without intelligence, unstable, liable to be tossed to and froby emotion. So saying, he laughed aloud and departed. At this Chudalai only pitied the ignorance of the king, and became cairn with the consciousness of the Atma-Jnana within, thinking that the king had not appreciated her words through his conception of the duality of the visible universe and his lack of enjoyment of true bliss.
Yet this couple continued to live together harmoniously and happily as before. Preserving as she did a perfect equili brium of mind, the wife had complete mastery over her desires. But there arose in her, through her own volition, a desire to be a “ walker of the skies” (in order to convince her husband of her real powers and so lead him into the spiritual path).
For this purpose she freed herself from all pains arising from enjoyment and seated herself in a solitary spot, in a pleasant posture, in order to obtain enlightenment.
At this point Rama asked Vasishta to enlighten him as to the path by which such psychic powers as walking in the Akasa, &c., might be developed after a long and difficult course of practice. Vasishta replied thus: “Albeit thou hast in the midst of the story of Sikhidvvaja asked for some light to be thrown on the practice of Yoga, yet I shall vouchsafe a reply to thee. O king, hearken to the means which having enabled one to control Prana, will yield him a rich return.
The first and fundamental essential is that one should divest himself of all affinities for objects, except those which adhere to the mind in the further ance of those actions upon which it is bent. Next follow proper diet, easy posture, purity of mind and body, knowledge of the true meaning of the many treatises on Yoga and unintermittent practice accordingly, with the help of a wise Guru. He should completely divest himself of all anger and greed as well of attachment to enjoyments and should be free from all love or hatred for others. If he should only study practically the nature of the Pranas and then master them, their nature will, like subjects, enable him to rule the universe, to attain Moksha like and develope Siddhis. There is among the one hundred Nadis one incomparable, called Antraveshtini It is spherical, like a vortex, or the circular sounding-board of the vina.
This will be found to pervade all places and all bodies from those of Brahma down to Jiva (the Ego). Like the coiling body of a serpent when it sleeps, shivering with cold, this ever-immoveable Nadi coils itself up and rests firmly through Prana-Vayu. Like a plantain flower it is exceedingly delicate within. In this Istadi, it is said, there is a pure and resplendant Sakti (power) called Kundalini which will enable men to have mastery over the tremendous powers of nature. This Sakti will ever be hissing like an angry female serpent.
It will ever rear its head aloft. It is the cause of the fluctuation which takes place in the mind. All the other Nadis are connected with this Kundalini Sakti. This Sakti becomes purified only by the immaculate rays of Jnana. It is transformed into the Jnana rays through meditation ; becomes Jnana through Jnana ; a Jiva through the tendencies of a Jiva ; Manas through Manasa (contemplation) ; the mani fold Sankalpa through Sankalpa ; Buddhi through certain knowledge and Ahankara through egoism. Thus this Sakti rejoices in the name of Puriashtaka. Kundalini Sakti passing as Jiva associates itself with the body which derives great benefit therefrom.
Being of the nature of Prana and Apana, it goes up and down. As it is without fixity it becomes of the nature of all and may take an upward course or a down ward one. And it is this Sakti which, though it becomes without any hindrance, the Jiva, produces death in the body through the Pranavayus. Should the upward and downward actions of this Kundalini Sakti be arrested through the con trol of Prana and this Prana be made to rest in the heart, then diseases will not affect permanently those having such control.”
At these words of Vasishta, Rama interposed and said: “Please enlighten me as to the origin and des truction of mental disease as well as those arising there from.
In answer to this Yasishta thus continued: “The pains that afflict the body are called the secondary diseases, whilst the Vasanas that affect the mind are termed men tal (or primary) diseases. We have reached our present state through the absence of the transcendental Jnana, the want of mastery over our organs and the perpetual growth of desires and egoism in the mind.
And our delusion becomes intensified in us by forgetfulness of the degradation of our state through such causes. With the concretion of such delusion, the mental disease also setting in congeals in us like the plenteous snows of winter. Then when the intense desires of a person begin to manifest themselves externally and the Ajnana in him preponderates, he performs fearful karmas and these in their turn breed bodily diseases. Again, the body is further subject to diseases through such actions as the eating of unwholesome food, living in unhealthy countries, and doing things at unseasonable hours, injuries inflicted, association with the wicked, longing after improper things, evil desires, bad thoughts, the distention and contraction of the orifices of the Ndis in the joints, &c., and the interrupted flow of the beneficial Pranas throughout the body these cause the body to shrink away.
Then these blossom in the form of diseases in the body, waxing and waning- like the floods in a river during the long seasons of autumn and winter. The body attracts to itself effects according to the nature of its count less affinities good or bad, whether in previous births or in the present one. Thus do we see that diseases, primary and secondary arise through the five-fold Bhutas (elements).
Now listen, O Rama, as to the manner in which the two forms of disease, primary and secondary, perish in two ways. The wise say that primary disease has two sub-divisions into Samclnya (ordinary) and Sdra (essential). The former in cludes the diseases incidental to the body, while the latter the re-birth men are subject to. If the diseases which afflict this body return to their primal source, then they are destroyed. Their primary causes being (bad) thoughts, if these thoughts are destroyed, all bodily diseases will vanish. But the disease of re-birth, coming under the head of Sara, will never perish except through Atma-Jnana. Is it possible to suppose that the misconception of a serpent in a rope will be removed except through the discovery of the real rope ?
But those grievous diseases of the body, which do not arise through the original cause, can be extirpated by mantras, medicine and the many means proposed by men well-versed in medical lore I need not expatiate upon this subject any further here.”
