orders were obeyed not merely by men, but
even by the Gods, including Brahma and
others. The King arose and established a
city in space, with fourteen roads and three
sectors. It had beautiful gardens, mountain
peaks and seven huge lakes. The city was
illuminated with two lights, hot and cold,
and the brightness from the two lights never
diminished. He further created a few worldly
creatures with varied life spans and who
were totally lost in the desires of worldly
objects. He enjoyed himself in his Creation.
Whenever he got bored, he evacuated the
city and thought to migrate to a future city.
Doing this time and again, the king became
tired of the world appearance itself.
‘Swottha’ refers to that person who is born
of himself. What can be born of itself in the
creation? Only the mind! Metaphorically,
the king represents the intentions/ ideation
of the mind that arises from the void,
causing the creation of the universe; the
three sectors refers to the holy Trinity,
the seven lakes depict the seven oceans;
the two lights are the Sun and the Moon
which bring light on Earth.The king enjoyed
himself, intermittently focusing on his inner
world and moving from one city to another;
basically, moving from one body to another
through multiple cycles of births and deaths.
Eventually, tired of the vicious cycle of
samsara, he developed wisdom and stopped
wandering. All his notions then ceased to
exist, and liberation dawned. Thus, even
when on the spiritual path, even if guided
by the great Gurus or the Divine Himself,
man struggles, caught in the ocean of
samsaras, unless he is free from the notions
of the mind. Hence, we should be free of all
thoughts and notions and turn inwards to
ensure a sustained connect with the eternal
consciousness.
Dasura said: ‘My child, everything germinates
from ideation. It is the mind which builds
castles in the air. To get liberated from the
vicious cycle of birth and death, you should
not hold on to the notion of existence. It is
an effortless exercise to focus on the inner
core of your being.’Establishing in the Self
Vasistha continued – “Hearing the sage’s
words, I went up to them and the three of us
discussed the Self. I awakened in them this
Supreme knowledge: “If you believe that the
world is unreal, you will be firmly established
in the Supreme Consciousness!”When Ram further questioned Vasishta on
how an unreal world could exist within the
real Absolute Brahman, the sage replied that
answers to such questions would appear
only through relentless self-effort. In reality,
notions of real and unreal would appear only
due to bondage; through the ideation of
the mind.When the Self is established in itself, all
notions of the unreal world cease to exist.
Such an individual is a personification of the
Supreme Lord, even if he lives an active life
or in contemplation of the Absolute.Having reinforced the nature of the Rishis
who had Self-knowledge, Sage Vasistha
proclaimed, “Oh Rama, you have attained
Self-knowledge; you are now similar to
those sages who know the infinite nature of
the Consciousness.’ He, who understands
that the entire Creation is a manifestation
of the Absolute Brahman and has firmly
rejected the world appearance as the reality,
is liberated and is not born again. Now, lead
a life of Absolute Bliss!”
(To be continued)