February 8, 2026
yadṛcchayā sthito jīvo bhūtatanmātrarañjitaḥ
kasminścidabhavat sarge bhikṣurakṣubhito ‘bhitaḥ (9)
VASIṢṬHA continued:
That swan once beheld lord Rudra and in its heart there arose the conviction that “I am Rudra”. Instantly it abandoned its body as swan and became Rudra. And that Rudra dwelt in the abode of Rudra. However, since Rudra was endowed with true knowledge, he remembered all that had taken place!
RUDRA recollected thus:
“Behold! How mysterious is this Māyā which deludes all the worlds: though it is unreal it appears to be real. First of all, in that infinite consciousness which was myself there arose the mind with objective consciousness, though yet cosmic and omniscient. Then accidentally I happened to be the jīva which felt attracted to and charmed by the finest part of the cosmic elements. Therefore during a certain creation-cycle I became the mendicant who remained totally unagitated. He was able to overcome all distractions and remain immersed in the practice of contemplation.
However, every subsequent action is more powerful than a previous act. The mendicant considered himself Jīvaṭa and so did he become. After that he bethought he was a brāhmaṇa. Surely the more powerful thought-form overwhelms the weaker one. Then in course of time and on account of persistent contemplation, he became a king: surely, water imbibed by the plant becomes its fruit! Associated with royal pleasures are nymphs; contemplating them, the king became a nymph. Purely on account of infatuation this nymph became a deer. The deer became a creeper which was obsessed with the idea that it would be pierced and a hole would be made. Contemplating the bee, it became a bee which then pierced a hole in the creeper. The bee became an elephant.
I am Rudra who has been a Rudra during the past one hundred creation-cycles, and I roam this world-appearance which is nothing more than a psychological delusion. In one creation-cycle I was Jīvaṭa, in another I was the brāhmaṇa, in another I was the king and in yet another I was the swan. Thus have I been revolving in this wheel known as the mind and the body.
It is aeons since I slipped from that supreme self or infinite consciousness. Soon after that fall I was that mendicant who was still endowed with knowledge of the truth. Then after passing through very many incarnations, through the grace of Rudra whom I happened to behold, I have become Rudra. When the jīva by coincidence comes into contact with an enlightened person, then its impure vāsanās (tendencies) turn away. This happens to that person who constantly longs for such contact with an enlightened person. Such constant longing (or abhyāsa) itself materialises and becomes an accomplished fact.