Text 153

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation of Text 153:

सविग्रहे मनसीन्द्रियान्तरसम्बन्धार्थं जाग्रतः कर्म आत्ममनह्सम्योगाद् इच्छाद्वेषपूर्वकप्रयत्नापेक्षात् अन्वभिप्रायम् इन्द्रियान्तरेण विषयान्तरोपलब्धिदर्शनात् । सुप्तस्य प्रबोधकाले जीवनपूर्वकप्रयत्नापेक्षात् । अपसर्पणकर्मोत्पसर्पणकर्म चात्ममनह्सम्योगाद् अदृष्टापेक्षात् । कथं यदा जीवनसहकारिनोर्धर्माधर्मयोरुपभोगात् प्रक्षयोऽन्योन्याभिभवो वा तदा जीवनसहाययोर्वैकल्यात् तत्पूर्वकप्रयत्नवैकल्यात् प्राणनिरोधे सत्यन्याभ्यां लब्धवृत्तिभ्यां धर्माधर्माभ्याम् आत्ममनह्सम्योगसहायाभ्यां मृतशरीराद् विभागकारणम् अपसर्पणकर्मोत्पद्यते । ततः शरीराद् वहिरपगतं ताभ्याम् एव धर्माधर्माभ्यां समुत्पनेनातिवाहिकशरीरेण सम्बन्ध्यते तत्सङ्क्रान्तं च स्वर्गं नरकं वागत्वा आशयानुरूपेण शरीरेण सम्बध्यते तत्सम्योगार्थं कर्मोपसर्पणम् इति । योगिनां च बहिरुद्रेचितस्य मनसोऽभिप्रेतदेशगमनं प्रत्यागमनं च । तथा सर्गकाले प्रत्यग्रेण शरीरेण सम्बन्धार्थं कर्मादृष्टकारितम् । एवम् अन्यद् अपि महाभूतेषु यत् प्रत्यक्षानुमानाभ्याम् अनुपलभ्यमानकारणम् उपकारापकारसमर्थं च भवति तद् अप्यदृष्टकारितम् । यथा सर्गादावणुकर्म अग्निवाय्वोरूर्ध्वतिर्यग् गमने महाभूतानां प्रक्षेभणम् । अभिषिक्तानां मणीनां तस्करं प्रति गमनम् । अयसोऽयस्कान्ताभिसर्पणं चेति ।। इति प्रशस्तपादभाष्ये कर्मपदार्थः समापतः ॥ १५३ ॥

savigrahe manasīndriyāntarasambandhārthaṃ jāgrataḥ karma ātmamanahsamyogād icchādveṣapūrvakaprayatnāpekṣāt anvabhiprāyam indriyāntareṇa viṣayāntaropalabdhidarśanāt | suptasya prabodhakāle jīvanapūrvakaprayatnāpekṣāt | apasarpaṇakarmotpasarpaṇakarma cātmamanahsamyogād adṛṣṭāpekṣāt | kathaṃ yadā jīvanasahakārinordharmādharmayorupabhogāt prakṣayo'nyonyābhibhavo vā tadā jīvanasahāyayorvaikalyāt tatpūrvakaprayatnavaikalyāt prāṇanirodhe satyanyābhyāṃ labdhavṛttibhyāṃ dharmādharmābhyām ātmamanahsamyogasahāyābhyāṃ mṛtaśarīrād vibhāgakāraṇam apasarpaṇakarmotpadyate | tataḥ śarīrād vahirapagataṃ tābhyām eva dharmādharmābhyāṃ samutpanenātivāhikaśarīreṇa sambandhyate tatsaṅkrāntaṃ ca svargaṃ narakaṃ vāgatvā āśayānurūpeṇa śarīreṇa sambadhyate tatsamyogārthaṃ karmopasarpaṇam iti | yogināṃ ca bahirudrecitasya manaso'bhipretadeśagamanaṃ pratyāgamanaṃ ca | tathā sargakāle pratyagreṇa śarīreṇa sambandhārthaṃ karmādṛṣṭakāritam | evam anyad api mahābhūteṣu yat pratyakṣānumānābhyām anupalabhyamānakāraṇam upakārāpakārasamarthaṃ ca bhavati tad apyadṛṣṭakāritam | yathā sargādāvaṇukarma agnivāyvorūrdhvatiryag gamane mahābhūtānāṃ prakṣebhaṇam | abhiṣiktānāṃ maṇīnāṃ taskaraṃ prati gamanam | ayaso'yaskāntābhisarpaṇaṃ ceti || iti praśastapādabhāṣye karmapadārthaḥ samāpataḥ || 153 ||

Text (153): In the mind that is in the body, there is an action, during the waking state of the man, for bringing about the contact of another organ of perception; and this action is brought about by the mind-soul contact, through the instrumentality of efforts proceeding from desires and aversions; this fact we infer from the fact that the perception of different objects by the different organs fallows the bent of our wishes. During the sleeping state, the action of the mind at the moment of waking is produced through the instrumentality of efort due -to the mere act of living.—(V-ii-14).

The action of ‘apasarpaṇa’ or ‘outgoing’ and also that of ‘upasarpaṇa’ or ‘Incoming,’ of the mind, proceeds from mind-soul contact, through the instrumentality of the unseen agencies (of dharma and adharma).

Question: “How so?”;

Answer? Life has for its auxiliaries dharma and adharma; and when these have become exhausted by actual experience, or when they have been suppressed by each other,—the Life being deprived of its auxiliaries and also of the effort due to these, the Breathing becomes stopped; and the mind becomes separated from the dead body by mind-soul contact, through the instrumentality of a fresh sei of dharma and adharma set into activity; and that action of the mind which brings about this separation is what is called ‘apasarpaṇa’ or ‘Outgoing.’ Then the mind going out of the body comes into contact with the transportive or etheric body (of the soul) produced by the same dharma and adharma; and while in this body, it proceeds to heaven or to hell, and there comes into contact with a body that appears in accordance with the residual tendencies (of the soul’s past deeds), and the actions of the mind that bring about this last contact is what is called ‘upasarpaṇa’ or ‘Incoming’ Of this same kind are the outgoing and incoming of the mind of Yogis, which is thrown out by them and transported for a time to any desired place. Similarly too, the action of the mind that brings one into touch with the new body at the time of action, is also brought about by the unseen agencies (of dharma and adharma).—(V-i-17).

In the same manner those actions that we find appearing in the rudimentary elements are produced, and for which we cannot find any cause either by sense-perception or by inference, and which are yet found to be useful or harmful to us,—must be regarded as produced by these unseen agencies. For instance, the action in the atoms at the begining of creation, the upward motion of fire, the horizontal motion of Air, and the moving of the elements, the going of the consecrated stone to the place of the thief, and the attraction of iron by the mag net.—(V-ii-2, 13, 12, 17, 7).

Commentary: The Nyāyakandalī of Śrīdhara.

(English rendering of Śrīdhara’s commentary called Nyāyakandalī or Nyāyakaṇḍalī from the 10th century)

..............................In the waking state we find that we never have any sensuous perception except those that are in keeping with our wish; that is to say, we see colour only when we have the wish that we should perceive colour; and so on with Taste and other things; and as a matter of fact we know that the extenal organs of perception have no perceptive power without the connection and help of the internal organ; consequently we conclude that the action of the mind, whereby it comes in contact with the external organs, proceeds from effort, due to certain desires and aversions of the person.

When the man is sleeping, then at the time of waking there is an action in the mind, for the purpose of bringing about its contact with other organs; and this action mast be regarded as proceeding from the mind-soul contact, through the instrumentality of the effort due to the act of living.

‘Living’ consists in a particular kind of mind-soul contact; and this contact, in bringing about its effects, is aided by dharma and adharma; hence when these two are exhausted and cease to produce effects, either by reason of all the results having been duly experienced, or by that of the two basing nullified each other,—then, the said contact becomes deprived of these aids, and hence also of the efforts due to these aids and then there is a cessation ef the action of breathing; the body falls dead; and at this point of time there are set in to activity such dharma and adharma as are to have their results experienced during the coming life; that is to say, that set of dharma and adharma which did not bring about its results doing the past life on account of the body of the soul during that life being, framed with a view to the experiencing of the results of a distinct set of dharma and adharma; but when these latter have become exhausted, then it is only natural that the other set of dharma and adharma should become active which is to have its results experienced by means of another body; as now there is nothing to obstruct this activity of the new set. The mind-soul contact now being aided by this fresh set of dharma and adharma—which is totally distinct from that which regulated the experiences of the previous body,—the mind becomes separated from the dead body; and the action of the mind that brings about this separation is called ‘Outgoing.’ Thus then, in the production of this action of ‘out-going,’ the mind-soul contact is the non-material cause, the mind the material cause, and the newly active set of dharma and adharma the instrumental cause.

After this, the mind having gone out of the dead body, it becomes joined to an etheric body, which is the effect of the same dharma-adharma; and along with this etheric body it goes to heaven or to hell, and there becomes joined to bodies in accordance with the residual tendencies of the man’s deeds. That is to say, the body that the soul takes in heaven or in hell must be connected with his mind; otherwise there could be no experiences in those regions; and as the mind is not omnipresent like the soul, it could not become connected with these other bodies, without actually going out to them; then again, its going to such a distance would not be possible by itself; as the mind without a body cannot possibly have any action except during the state that follows immediately after Universal Dissolution; hence it is for this reason that we assume the existence of a subtile and inperceptible body which is close to the dead body, and which is produced from atoms, upwards, set into motion by the unseen agencies; and. as this body serves to transport the mind from the dead body to the regions of heaven or hell &c., it is called the ‘transportive’ body. In support of our view we may put forward the following argument.:—

Between death and the next birth, the action of the mind must be such as is due to its contact with a body,—because it is an action of the mind other than that at the point of time immediately after the Great Dissolution,—like the action of the mind in the body that we see. This view is also supported by the scriptures.

The action then that brings about the contact of the mind with this other body is called ‘Upasarpaṇa’ or ‘In-coming’; which thus comes to be that action of the mind whereby it becomes joined to fresh bodies produced in heaven or hell.

Of the Yogis &c. &c.,........................... Then again, the action of the mind that brings it into the other body at the next birth of the soul, is due to unseen agencies; so also are the actions of the rudimentary elements &c., &c., &c., &c. For instance,........................ the Vibration of the elements—e.g. the motion of the Earth; when a person is being examined for theft, a stone over which certain mantras have been pronounced, actually moves to him (if he is really the thief).................. all this is due to unseen agencies.

Fix in your hearts the great truth that Action is the cause of the obtaining of the desirable, and the avoiding of the undesirably experiences.!!