Laghu YOGA VASISHTHA - HolyBooks.com

LAGHU YOGA VASISTHA
king, w-ill hear my words without interruption,
and, in the full belief that they will conduce to your
welfare, as in the attitude of an ignorant child that
hears the words of its father who is solicitous of its
well- being. Therefore, in order to instruct the
King, the Muni thus continued: O king, please
hearken to a story I shall relate to you, and I will
afterwards reveal to you its hidden meaning.
In ancient times, there lived a great man, wellversed
in all departments of knowledge, and
possessed of great wealth; but, alas! Without
Atman Jnanam! This person pursued the search for
Chinthamani, (a gem supposed to yield anything
thought of), with much effort. Through the
performance of rare Tapas, he came into possession
of it after a good deal of trouble; for what cannot a
man attain to if he takes the necessary trouble?
Now, when the gem appeared to him, shining with
the lustre of the moon, he, without bringing it
under his grasp, thus soliloquized: „I fear this is not
Chinthamani, but only some paltry stone. Can it be
otherwise attained than by long and tedious search
and when a man s life is nearly spent and his body
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