Yayati: A Classic Tale of Lust (Library of South Asian Literature)

by Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar

In this world everybody obviously lives for himself. As the roots of the trees and creepers turn to moisture nearby, so do men and women look for support to near relations for their happiness. This is what the world calls love, affection or friendship. In fact, it is only the love of self. If the moisture on one side dries up, the trees and the creepers do not dry up, but their roots look for it elsewhere, be it far or near. They find it, draw it in and so remain fresh.

I never thought about relationships this way, but it's true; well thought.

In human life, the soul is the passenger, the body the chariot, conscience the charioteer and mind the reins. The different senses are the horses, all the items of enjoyment are the roads, and the soul with senses and the mind attached to it has to use them. If there is no chariot, where will the soul sit? How will he get to the battlefield of life quickly? How will he fight the enemy? Therefore, one must not underrate the importance of the chariot i.e., the body. Yati made that unpardonable mistake. The senses are the horses of this chariot. Because without them, he cannot move at all. If the horses are just harnessed to the chariot, there is no knowing when they will run amuck and the chariot be thrown into a deep chasm and be smashed to smithereens. Therefore, the horses in the form of senses must be controlled by the reins, i.e. the mind. But even these reins must always be in the hands of the charioteer. Otherwise they might as well not be there. Therefore, the mind must be under the control of the conscience. The mind and the conscience working together can regulate the chariot with caution. The ‘I’, an infinitesimal part of God, which wakes up in all of us and which pervades all beings ... which transcends conscience and mind and can also see beyond life and death ... the soul itself is the passenger in the chariot.

soul....

‘Good and evil are imaginary concepts put out by clever men and fools. In this world, only happiness and misery are real. Everything else is delusion. Good and bad are appearances ... the play of the mind.

Good and evil are imaginary concepts...

I had a strange feeling that one moment Puroo was as close to me as he was when he was in my womb. The next moment I thought that he was going further and further away from me. His contact with me now was no more than that of the bird, who soars all day in the sky singing merrily, and returns to the nest only at night. His was a different world now. I hoped that the unfortunate mother would have a space in the fullness of that world. Such thoughts were very depressing. Puroo would fondly say, ‘What is the matter, Mother?’ I could say nothing. Is it the rule of Creation that fundamentally man must be lonely at heart?

‘In happiness and misery, remember one thing. Sex and wealth are the great symbols of manhood. They are inspiring symbols. They sustain life. But they are unbridled. There is no knowing when they will run amuck. Their reins must at all times be in the hands of duty.’ Oh man, desire is never satisfied by indulgence. Like the sacrificial fire, it ever grows with every offering.

wise last words...