The goddess replies to the question which Leela
asks:—
I tell you lady, Divine
Will is an aerial tree and its fruits are as unsubstantial as air, having no
figure or form or substance to them. Whatever is formed by the will of God from
the pure essence of His intelligent nature is only a likeness of Himself and
bears little difference from its original. My body is the same and I need not
lay it aside. I find that place with my body like a breeze finds odors.
As water mixes with water, fire with fire, and air with air, so does this
spiritual body easily join with any material form that it likes. But a physical
body cannot mix with a non-physical substance, nor can a solid rock become the
same as the idea of a hill.
Leela said, “Say
goddess, what happens to the spiritual body after it has attained its
compactness by constant practice of yoga? Does it becomes indestructible or
does it perish like all other finite bodies?”
The goddess replied:—
Anything that exists is
perishable and, of course, liable to death. But how can something die that is
nothing and is imperishable in its nature? Again, once we realize the mistake
of thinking a rope to be a snake, the snake disappears of itself and no one
mistakes the rope anymore. Thus, as the true knowledge of the rope removes the
false conception of the snake in it, so the recognition of the spiritual body
dispels the misconception of its materiality.
We clearly see our
bodies as full of the spirit of God. Your gross understanding keeps you from
seeing this. In the beginning, when consciousness (chit) is engrossed with the imagination of the mind, it loses sight
of the One.
Leela asked, “But how
can imagination trace out anything in that unity in which the divisions of time
and space and all things are lost in an undistinguishable mass?”
The goddess replied:—
Like the bracelet in
gold, waves in water, the show of truth in dreams, and the appearance of castles
in the sky all vanish upon an accurate perception, so the imaginary attributes
of the unpredictable God are all nothing whatever. Just like there is no dust
in the sky, no attribute or partial property can be ascribed to God whose
nature is indivisible and unimaginable, who is an unborn unity, tranquil and
all-pervading. Whatever shines about us is the pure light of that Being who
scatters His luster all around like a transcendental gem.
Leela said, “If it is so
at all times, then tell me, O goddess, how we happened to fall into the error
of attributing duality and diversity to His nature?”
The goddess replied:—
It was your ignorance
that for so long has led you to error. The natural bane of mankind is the
absence of reasoning, and it requires remedying by your attending to reason.
When reason takes the place of ignorance, in a
moment it introduces the light of knowledge in the soul instead of its former
darkness. As reason advances, your ignorance and your bondage to prejudice are
put to flight. Then you have an unobstructed liberation and pure understanding
in this world. As long as you remained without reasoning on this subject, you
were either sleeping or wandering in error.
Now your reason and liberation are awakened and the seeds for the suppression of your desires are sown in your heart. At first, the nature of this physical world was neither apparent to you nor you to it. How long will you reside in it and what other desires have you here? Withdraw your mind from its thoughts of the viewer, the visible, and the vision of this world. Settle your mind on the idea of the entire negation of all existence.
Remaining entranced in
your abstract meditation, in process of time you will have a soul as luminous
as a star in the clear sky of heaven, free from the links of all causes and
their effects for evermore.
Love.
