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Preface
world for which the man had earlier entertained deep infatuation and caused severe bondage, become the cause of destruction of the bondage as he acquires true knowledge. (verses 242-244)
For a certain soul, sometime there can be excessive (karmic) bondage (as compared to dissociation of karmas), sometime little bondage, sometime same (as dissociation), and sometime no bondage, just dissociation. This should be known as the sequence of bondage and liberation. The 'yogi', the supreme ascetic, is liberated from karmas and for him there is no future influx (of karmas). (verses 245-246)
The ascetic should not overlook even the slightest breach in his austerities - vows of asceticism. The 'house' of asceticism is protected by strong doors in form of 'gupti', walls in form of 'dhairya' - firmness, and foundation in form of buddhi' - the knowledge or the intellect. The house is damaged by the snakes of attachment (rāga) and aversion (dueṣa) if even a small hole (of wrong-conduct) is left in it. (verses 247-248)
The ascetic is ever engaged, through severe austerities, in destroying own faults; if, out of ignorance, he engages in scandalizing others, it is like providing nourishment to those very faults. Even the blind is able to see any shortcoming that may have appeared in the great ascetic. However, this capability of the blind does not get him to the position of the great ascetic. As the yogi attains knowledge-based discernment, he reckons that his earlier conduct of censuring others and praising self was an act of ignorance. (verses 249-251)
The discriminating ascetic, getting detached from even the body that he is acquainted with for so long, and maintaining equanimity in happiness and misery and in life and death, remains incessantly engaged in meditation, etc., while enduring self-imposed inflictions on the body. He reckons that there is absolute distinction between the body and the possessor of the body (the soul) that live together inseparably like the milk and the water. (verses 252-253)
Those who long for liberation attain happiness only after dissociating themselves from the body. The future births of those great men who, through right meditation, eject from their hearts severe delusion (moha),
(XXXVII)
