Indian Antiquary Vol 35

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 55

FEBRUARY, 1906.)
TALES OF THE TELUGU VAISHNAVAS.
49
"At the end of this won all the worlds and the rulers thereof will disappear into impenetrable darkness. Beyond that darkness thou shinest! Even Dévas and Rishis are unable to find thy abode. Who then can know it? Like an actor in a play, thou assumest different aspects. Thy ways are beyond my understanding. Savo me!
“Thy abode is all good. Rishis, who have thrown off all worldly attachments, desire to be thine ; so they leave the world and live in forests. Thou art the soul of all beings; thou art their friend. Thou art the way. Thou hast neither birth, nor action, name, nor form. Thou hast no evil in thee. Thou art never any less. Thou art unborn, yet givest birth through thy Mâyå. I bow down before the highest and greatest Lord! Thou art the light of the soul, the Great Soul, with uninterrupted sight. I prostrate myself before a being who is beyond words, mind and buddhi. I can only approach thee through truth and wisdom and passivity. Thou art the only Lord of Kaivalya, nothing but that. Thou knowest the bliss of Nirvana, - all bliss, for the good; all fear, for the bad ; secret, unknown, possessing perfect equilibrium, no attributes. Thou art concentrated wisdom, the Kurower of the body, from whom nothing is hidden. Omnipresent. Origin of all souls. Thou art the Primordial Matter. The cause of all changes. Thou art invisible to the bad and visible to the good. Thou possessest all the Vedas. Thou art in the form of the great ocean. Thou art emancipation, the final goal. Thou art hidden in the world, as heat is hidden in the bodies of all things. Thou art undisturbed by the turmoil of the world. Thou art self-illumined. Thou performest no work. I worship thee.
“Thou art all meroy. Thou art known through the mind. Thog appearest in the form of the soul. Thou canst not be attained by those immersed in worldly matters. Thou art not subject to the three qualities. The redeemed will have thee in their hearts. Those who have renounced the world go to tbee, obtaining their desires and never-dying bodies. Those who desire nothing will be singing thy praises, for ever merged in the ocean of bliss. I praise the Changeloss One, the Highest, the Unknown, understood only by mental perception, beyond the senses, the smallest Atom, the Farthest, Endless, Perfect. I worship such a being !
Dêvas, Vedas, and worlds are produced from a small portion of thee. These worlds proceed from thee, like the rays from the sun, and sometimes they disappear. Thou createst buddhi, mind and the five elements, and the bodies made of them. Thou art not a Dêva, nor a Rakshasa, nor a human being, woman or man, nor a lower animal, nor & reptile, nor an insect. Thou hast no qualities, no action, no being, no non-being. Thou neither receivest nor rejectest. Thou art in and out of the world. I desire to be free from the cover of my soul through thee!
“Thou art the most excellent Place. All thy deeds are yôgi-like. Thou art conceived in the heart of human beings through yoga. All yogis see thee. Thou art the Lord of yôga. Thy swiftness is unbearable! Thou possessest the three kinds of power, that is, governing, thought, and capability. Thou savest all who take refuge in thee. I am in misery. Oh, save me from this misery!"
Vishnu heard the King's prayer and with all haste proceeded to save him. Lakshmi, seeing the great haste of Vishnu, was amazed, and said to herself, "He does not tell me where he is going : maybe he heard the distressed cry of a woman; perhaps the Vedas have been stolen by the wicked, or Rakshasas are besieging the Devas, or some evil persons are asking the devotees of Vishnu to show the god to them." Thinking thus, she quickly followed him. In his haste be caught at the end of her garment, and without glancing at her, flew on. So she accompanied him with disordered attire. Garuda also went after Lakshmi, the five weapons following. But Vishnu in his extreme haste outstripped them. Even then, feeling that his greatest speed was insufficient, he seized his mighty disc, aimed it, and hurled it at the alligator, which being struck was broken to pieces and the king-elephant was saved.