Chapter 10 - Means of Direct Perception

Sūta said:

1-9. O great brahmins, lord Śiva becomes delighted with all these persons: those who desire to be liberated, who have conquered self, the twice-born, the virtuous, who have attained sādhanās, the noble-souled, kind and merciful, the ascetics, who have renounced the world, who are detached and endowed with perfect knowledge, who have self-control, the three kinds of donors, who have subdued senses, who speak truth, who are liberal, endowed with yogic practice, conversant with śrutis and smṛtis and who do not come into clash with the śāstric injunctions. The word ‘sat’ refers to the Brahman. Those who are likely to attain Brahma in the end are called liberated. They who are neither angry nor delighted in regard to the ten types of sensuous objects^[1] and eight types of means^[2] are called self-conquerors. The brahmins, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are called twice-born because they have special consecratory rites. The virtuous is the one who has acquired the knowledge of dharma explained in śruti and smṛti which is proper for different castes and stages of life and which brings about happiness in heaven and other worlds. One who acquires learning by serving his preceptor is a sādhu (among the religious students). The householder is also a sādhu when he performs holy rites (ordained for him). The forest-dweller becomes a sādhu when he achieves penances.

10. The striving ascetic is called a sādhu when he achieves yogic power. Thus the persons who achieve Dharma relating to Ashrams [āśramas] or the various stages of life are called sadhus.

11-13. The persons in the different stages of life are: the religious student, the householder, the forest dweller and the ascetic. The two words Dharma and Adharma mentioned here denote activities. Auspicious activities constitute Dharma and inauspicious activities Adharma. The word Dharma is explained as that which is great in the task of Dhāraṇa (holding up, or uplifting) and Adharma (its opposite) as not holding up. In this context Dharma is instructed by the preceptors as one that takes to what is desired.

14-16. Adharma, as taught by the preceptors, is one that has as its fruit what is not desired. They call those persons Ācāryas (preceptors) who are elderly, not greedy and self-possessed; devoid of arrogance, well disciplined, and straight forward. He who practises (Dharma) himself who establishes others in dharma and who gathers together the meanings of the scriptural texts is called ācārya. What should be known or what is worthy of knowledge is śrauta if it is heard and smārta if it is remembered.

17-21. A sacrifice when it pertains to Vedas is called śrauta, and when it pertains to the varṇāśramas is called smārta. One who has found truth and does not hide it when asked for, is called an ācārya. Truth, as defined in this purāṇa, is the statement of facts exactly in the manner seen. Tapas (penance) constitutes celibacy, silence, observance of fast, abstention from injury of all sorts and quiescence. When a person behaves towards all living beings like unto himself^[3] both for welfare or otherwise that attitude is called kindness. Whatever one has obtained by justifiable means, whatever one likes the most, should be given to a meritorious person. This is the characteristic feature of the charitable gift of the donor. Charitable gift is of three types viz.—the lowliest, the highest and the middling.

22-27. The sharing (of possessions) with all living beings, out of sympathy is the charitable gift of the middling order. The rites laid down by Śrutis and Smṛtis in regard to persons of different stages in life and castes constitute dharma. Dharma that does not come into clash with the conduct of the persons of disciplined life is held to be righteous.

That person is glorified as one of auspicious soul who eschews the fruits of his illusive activities.

One who has refrained from all attachments is glorified as a Yogin. He who ponders over the risks involved in sensual pleasures and remains unattached to them even though pressed importunately from all round is called self-controlled.

The characteristic feature of perfect control constitutes the fact that sense organs do not function falsely or improperly whether for one’s sake or for others.

The following is the detached state:—The person is not excited when calamities occur nor is he overjoyed when he has pleasant results. Absolute cessation of joyousness, affliction and despondency is detachment.

Renunciation of the fruits of all activities committed or omitted is called Sannyāsa.

28-31. The eschewal of both joy and misery is called Nyāsa. All created things from the unmanifest to the manifest gross elements are insentient. Perfect Knowledge is the discrimination between the sentient and the insentient. Lord Śiva, no doubt, bestows his grace on him who is endowed with such perfect knowledge. So also dharma bestows grace. Yet I shall tell you a great secret. One who is endowed with devotion to the lord is undoubtedly liberated. It is certain that lord Siva checks the different sorts of delusion of the devotee and is delighted with him even if he (the devotee) lacks full accomplishments for yoga.

32-37. Perfect knowledge, teaching of the Vedas, offerings to the gods, meditation, sacrifices, penance, charitable gifts, study of the Vedas, all these undoubtedly contribute to the devotion of Lord Śiva. O excellent sages, devotion results from thousands of Cāndrāyaṇas,^[4] hundreds of Prājāpatyas,^[5] monthly fasts and other holy rites. Those who lack in devotion to the lord fall into a mountain cave and undergo the results of their karman.^[6] A devotee is liberated through his devotional emotion. O brahmins, there is no doubt in this that heavenly pleasures are not difficult of access even to ordinary men. by the mere sight of the devotee; what doubt then in regard to the devotee. It is only through devotion that Brahmā, Viṣṇu, gods, sages, and others stabilise themselves and attain strength and fortune. This has been stated by the lord himself while addressing Umā.

38-41. O brahmins, these words were spoken by the lord to the goddess Umā at Vārāṇasī, in the Avimuktaka^[7] region While the lord was silting with her. she addressed him thus: “O great lord how can you be realised and worshipped. O Lord, tell me, is it by penance, or learning, or yoga?

Sūta said:

On hearing her words and looking at her with a face resembling the full moon the lord with the crescent moon for his ornament laughed boisterously and recollected what had been formerly mentioned by Mena, the consort of the Himalaya when she saw that her daughter had overstayed there.

42-47 The lord said: “O gentle lady, O sportful one, now that you have obtained a beautiful city for your abode, do you forget what was mentioned by your mother in regard to the selection of a site for abode. O foremost among those who ask questions, formerly I was asked by Brahmā in the same manner as I have been asked by you. O splendid lady, in the Śveta kalpa, Brahmā saw me in the white colour as Sadyojāta; in the Rakta kalpa in the red colour as Vāmadeva; in the Pītakalpa in the yellow colour as Tatpuruṣa; in the Aghorakalpa in. the black colour as Īśvara; in the Viśvarūpa kalpa as the multi-coloured Īśāna. Then he said to me: O Vāma, O Tatpuruṣa, O, Aghora, O Sadyojātā, O Maheśvara, O lord of Devas, O great lord, you have been seen by me along with Gāyatrī. O great lord, by what means and by whom can you be controlled? O storehouse of mercy, wherein are you to be meditated upon?”

48-53 “O lord, how can we see you along with the goddess? How can we worship you. It behoves you to recount it.”

The lord said to the goddess:

I said (then to Brahmā), ‘O lotus-born one, I can. be controlled by faith alone. I am to be meditated upon in the Liṅga which both you and Viṣṇu beheld in the ocean. I am to be adored by the twice-born in the form of the five-faced deity with the five-syllabled mantra. O preceptor of the universe, born, of the cosmic egg, I have been, seen by you to day by virtue of your devotion to me.’ He (Brahma) then asked me to create in him a feeling of further devotion which I readily granted. O goddess, with that increased devotion he saw me clearly in his heart. I declare that I am subject to control by means of devotion alone. I can indeed be seen thereby, O daughter of the Himalaya! And, indeed, I am always to be worshipped in the liṅga by the brahmins full of faith. Faith is the greatest and the subtlest virtue. It is perfect knowledge and sacrifice; it is penance, heaven and liberation. I am always seen through faith.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

daśātmake viṣaye—objects that can be accomplished through ten organs of sense, i.e. five organs of action and five organs of knowledge.

[2]:

This group of eight is explained in the preceding chapter.

[3]:

This ethical code places this cult at par with universal religion.

[4]:

Cāndrāyaṇa: Cf. Yājñavalkya 3.324 et seq; Manu 11.217. It is a religious observance or expiatory penance regulated by the period of the moon’s waxṃg and waning. Herein the daily quantity of food consisting of fifteen mouthful s at the full moon is diminished by one mouthful every day during the dark fortnight till it is increased in like manner during the bright fortnight.

[5]:

Prājāpatya: It is a religious fast or penance. Herein one shall take food for three days in the morning, for three days in the evening, and thereafter shall abstain from food for three days.

[6]:

[ātmabhogārtham—bhogaprāptya śayā] Śivatoṣiṇī (a commentary on the Liṅgapurāṇa). in expectation of enjoying the objects of senses.

[7]:

Avimukta—same as Kāśī (Mahābhārata. III. Ch. 84.79-8; Viṣṇu 5.34.30, 54; Matsya 180.54, 94ff; Vāyu. 106.69). For detail, vide P. V. Kane, History of Dharmaśāstra (Vol. iv. pp. 618-642). But in the Kali age it has lost its original form. Cf. Brahmāṇḍa 2.3.67, 60-64. It is called Avimukta or Avimuktaka, for it is the permanent abode of Śiva (1.92.45-46):—[vimuktaṃ na mayā yasmānmokṣyate vā kadācan | mama kṣetramidaṃ tasmādavimuktamiti smṛtam ||]