Vasishta Muni in Mahabharata: Monist
or Vaishnava?
BY: SUNANDA DAS (ACBSP)
Apr 23, 2011 — FLORIDA, USA (SUN) — "Vasishtha said, I have thus far discoursed to thee on the Sankhya philosophy. Listen now to me as I tell thee what is Vidya (knowledge) and what is Avidya (Ignorance), one after the other."
"When the Yogin withdraws and merges all the principles into the Unmanifest Soul (or Brahma) then the twenty-fifth (viz., Jiva or Purusha) also, with all those principles disappears into it. When the principles become merged each into its progenitor, then the one that remains is Prakriti."
"When Kshetrajna too, O son, becomes merged into his own producing cause then (all that remains is Brahma and, therefore) Prakriti with all the principles in it becomes Kshara (or meets with destruction), and attains also to the condition of being without attributes in consequence of her dissociation from all the principles. Thus it is that Kshetrajna, when his knowledge of Kshetra disappears, becomes, by his nature, destitute of attributes, as it has been heard by us."
"The twenty-fifth, (viz., Jiva), when he thus succeeds in understanding the Supreme, becomes able to cast off the Destructible and attain to identity with that which is Indestructible and which is the essence of all that is auspicious, Destitute of attributes in his true nature and in reality Unmanifest, Jiva becomes invested with what is Manifest and assumes attributes. When he succeeds in beholding that which is without attributes and which is the origin of the Unmanifest, he attains, O ruler of Mithila, to identify the same."
"The knowledge, O monarch, which the Sankhya preach, is capable of awakening every one. In the Sankhya scriptures, that Knowledge has been inculcated very clearly for the benefit of disciples. The learned say that this Sankhya system is very extensive. Yogin have great regard for that system as also for the Vedas. In the Sankhya system no topic or principle transcending the twenty-fifth is admitted. That which the Sankhyas regard-as their highest topic of principles has been duly described (by me). In the Yoga philosophy, it is said that Brahma, which is the essence of knowledge without duality, becomes Jiva only when invested with Ignorance. In the Yoga scriptures, therefore, both Brahma and Jiva are spoken of."
As I previously pointed out (presented in the article, "Translations of the Mahabharata"
by the Sun Staff), these statements of Vasishta Muni in the Mokshadharma section of the Mahabharata are the foundations of classical impersonal philosophy, or monism, also known as empiricism or Sankhya philosophy. From the above and previous statements we can get get a clear idea of what this philosophy states in it's component parts and how, by comparison, Vaishnava philosophy brings these conclusions to their purest and most correct form of understanding, leaving aside the imperfections of ordinary "anti-material" spiritual conceptions. As Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita:
iti ksetram tatha jnanam
jneyam coktam samasatah
mad-bhakta etad vijnaya
mad-bhavayopapadyate
"Thus the field of activities [the body], knowledge, and the knowable have been summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and thus attain to My nature." (Bg 13.19)
The purpose of this article is to point out some history regarding this great sage, Vasishta Muni, the royal guru of the Sun dynasty during the Treta-yuga before and during the time of Lord Ramacandra, and how he eventually betook himself of bhakti, as did the four Kumaras, the sage Vaskali and Sukadeva Goswami. This is elaborately explained in the book Mayavada Jivani (The Life History of Mayavadism) by H.H. Srila Bhakti Prajnan Kesava Goswami Maharaja, Godbrother and sannyasa guru of Srila Prabhupada. Below is the section entitled 'Monism in Treta-Yuga'.
"In Treta-yuga, the sage Vasishta was the chief preceptor of monism and was the royal guru to the Sun Dynasty (surya-vamsa) in which Lord Rama appeared. The Rama Carita-Manasa offers a brief description of his erudition as an empirical philosopher. Nevertheless, even grave philosophers and empiricists can become immersed in the ocean of Divine Love. This happened to Vasishta when he was consoling Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama who at the time was deeply upset by his brother's banishment and the subsequent demise of their father, King Dasaratha. The sage entered an ecstatic trance while describing Sri Laksmana's and Sitadevi's unalloyed love for Lord Rmacandra. The Vaisnava poet Sri Tulsidasa writes:
"Bharat sat near Vasishta and heard words of spiritual wisdom from this most knowledgeable sage. The sage, however, entered into an ecstatic trance due to speaking consoling words to mitigate Bharata's despondency."
"In the Bengali translation of Ramayana, the author Kirttivasa also referred to Vasishta as the foremost of sages on the path of empirical knowledge. That the sage Vasishta was a 'brahman realized' monist is certainly not contested by anyone. The famous composition Yoga-Vasishta Ramayana is solid evidence of this. Vasishta is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam 6/18/5:
"The great yogi Valmiki was mystically born in an anthill from Varuna's essence. Valmiki and Bhrgu were considered Varuna's special sons, whereas Agastya and Vasishta were the naturally born common sons of Varuna and Mitra (Aditi's son)."
"The renowned commentator and erudite preceptor Srila Sridhar Swami also writes in his commentary to the above verse:
"Both Bhrgu and Valmiki exhibited profound erudition and the super-excellent qualities of Vaishnavas, hence they are called the extraordinary sons of Varuna. Whereas both Agastya and Vasishta were 'brahman realized' monist Mayavadis, hence they are known as ordinary sons of Varuna".
"The Srimad Bhagavatam poetically describes how the demigod Varuna on seeing Urvasi the upsara (celestial damsel) uncontrollably passed semen, which later mystically resulted in the birth of the two sages Agastya and Vasishta. Vasishta is therefore usually known as Urvasi's son and maybe it is for this reason that Sridhar Swami described Vasishta as Varuna's ordinary son. The sage Vasishta was a monist pursuing the path of impersonal liberation, the empirical knowledge of which he was known to teach his disciples at his hermitage. The Supreme Lord Ramacandra was greatly saddened to see His family preceptor so misguided and confused about the Absolute Truth. By the Lord's causeless mercy Vasishta was delivered, his empirical mind seemingly drawn into the incessant ambrosial current of bhakti from where he surrendered his heart at Lord Rama's lotus feet and remained there eternally engaged in His loving service."
