Vidya Gita…
Saturday, April 20th, 2013
Who is the best and who follows the path that excels every other one? When such a dispute arose among the exalted sage beings, Goddess Tripura Herself had to intercede, showering humanity with the Supreme Wisdom, The Tripura Rahasya…Answering the question, Goddess Tripura declared that one who is devoted to Abstract Consciousness excels every other seeker… an extract from Sanathana Sarathi, September 1968, written by Janakicharan Das.
The Tripura Rahasya contains a section called Sri Vidya Gita, which is a proper subject for study, during the Navaratri, when Tripura Sundari, the Goddess Shakti or Maya or Kali or Saraswati is being worshipped and meditated upon by all ardent aspirants. The Gita is in the form of a story: Once upon a time, a distinguished galaxy of sages assembled in Brahmaloka. Each one of them held forth loud and long on his own system, with the courage of conviction and declared that it was the best. This led to great confusion and they could not all agree upon the system that was the best. So, they prayed to the Goddess Tripura to solve their problem. When The Goddess manifested Herself before them, they asked Her, “What is the proper and perfect means of attaining Thee? What is the nature and result of this attainment? Who is the best among the sages who have accomplished The Goal?”
The answer given contains the cream of the highest gains of Indian philosophy. “I am the ABSTRACT Intelligence, wherefrom the Cosmos originates, whereon it flourishes, wherein it resolves. The ignorant call Me, Prakriti, or the. Gross Universe, the wise know Me, as their own pure Being, the `I’ within. Being non-dual and Abstract Intelligence, I spontaneously manifest as the minutest particle in the universe as well as the universe itself. I manifest in diverse ways; but, I Am unblemished, for I Am Absolute. Though I Am the abode of all and immanent in all, I remain pure.
I wield My Maya and I play in it. I become covered with ignorance; I appear full of desires; I seek their fulfillment and appear happy or miserable; I project favourable or unfavourable environments; I appear to be born again and again; I learn the Truth and get absolved. This manifestation as the ignorant and the bound is called Creation. Supreme Wisdom is the state devoid of thoughts, will and desire and is unimpeded by ignorance. Non-dual consciousness is the state of emancipation. Emancipation is eternal and therefore, here and now; it is not a state to be acquired.
If the longing for becoming aware of emancipation is intense and unwavering, you will succeed. Three evil propensities that befoul the intellect have to be overcome: (i) want of faith in the Sastras and the Guru (ii) addiction to desires and (iii) dullness. Believe firmly, convince yourself by correct logic, develop dispassion, and to overcome dullness, practise adoration, prayer, meditation so that you may win Divine Grace. He who unreservedly surrenders himself to Me, with devotion, is endowed with all the requisites necessary for the Realisation of the Self, that is to say, Me.
You ask Me who among you is the best. Well, He who has one-pointed devotion to God is the best of aspirants, because his dullness will disappear through Grace. But, the one devoted to Abstract Consciousness excels every other seeker. Some sages, like Janaka, abide as the Self, even while engaged in complex duties. Though engaged in work, if a person does not look upon anything as non-self, he is a perfect sage. The best among the sages is never out of samadhi, be he working or idle. He is not influenced by happiness or misery, by pleasure or pain, nor by fear or doubt or desire. He feels himself pervading all, as all. He is at peace, he is aware that all dualities are in the Self and of the Self. He feels this continuously and spontaneously. Such a one is the best among you. This is called Vidya Gita, because Tripura, or She Who presides over the three Puras, cities that is to say, the gross, subtle and karana-sariras or bodies, is Vidya or the Highest Wisdom Itself.
In the Devi Mahatmya, the Goddess is described, “Sarvasya buddhi rupena, Janasya hrdi samsthithe!” “She who is in every being as Buddhi or Intelligence.” She is Mahavidya, Mahavani, Bharathi, Vaak Saraswati. She promotes, confers, directs, intelligence. She Who confers liberation through Intelligence and removes the fog of delusion from the inner eye is worshipped, adored and propitiated. May Intelligence grow, May Ignorance vanish, May all of us, through the Grace of Mother Sai be released from bondage to the senses and bondage to the temporary and the tawdry.
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